Elemental Aeon
by Kesshou Uryou
Summary: “If you can’t afford to die for what you believe in, you might as well be not living at all.” [Sakura x Syaoran]
1. Blaze

**_Elemental Aeon_  
**_Kesshou Uryou  
_  
**Act I**  
**Chapter I  
Blaze**

She was always a heavy sleeper, but only the dead could sleep through the conditions that had arisen in the night. The sudden sensation pressing down on her throat was impossible for even her to ignore. She jolted upright, sleep long forgotten. The tingly feeling conquering her throat was let out. She had given into the bout of coughs, and she clambered to her feet with a small hand clutched over her mouth. Her other arm was ushered in front of her, swinging back and forth wildly. If the flailing did nothing but help her avoid the walls and find the door, it had served its purpose. Through the drawn windows came a warm orange light, but it did not alter the fact that the room was mostly cast in shadows.

Coughing continuously, she received the false impression of a sudden and scorching fire in her lungs. From each eye a couple of tears escaped. She had choked on several things in the past, but now it seemed like there was nothing else choking her other than the air itself. With her mind spinning, she could still make out the screams coming from beyond her room. A great quantity of them penetrated her room through her bedroom walls. Those walls that were the only things between her and the town.

By some miracle, as it seemed to her, she found the door. She flung it open in an instant, but this was met with unfavorable conditions. With the action, the coughing increased even further. Sinking to her knees, her eyes foggily widened in fear. Down the long hallway, through a large window, she could see the fire from outside. Blazing and destructive, it was a formidable enemy she did not want to face. But the sight of it all clicked in her mind. This was smoke bringing her to this level of discomfort, this seemingly endless coughing.

The town had not been naïve. There had been numerous talks of sudden catastrophes that were randomly inspired. But this town was more isolated than others, cradled by forest on all sides. The people had been confident that it was safe here. And, of course, human nature dictates that something will not be truly believed until it has happened to the person in question. Then it's too late. This town was not safe from the fire's deadly embers. From one small spark, towns had fallen. It was not a far fetched idea to think that this town's fate had been decided in the same way. The problems of today, however, did not lie only in the fire. Any element was unpredictable, and any other disaster could have befallen the town.

She had received a few rather careless instructions concerning what to do in case of a fire, but she found herself frozen. Staring at taunting, dancing flames rising into the blackest of nights in her very own hometown sent her into an almost numb state. Perhaps it was only through some sort of delayed reflex that she knew what to do.

She grabbed hurriedly at the bottom of her loose ankle length skirt. She tore a large piece of the bottom off the cloth in a heartbeat. Her small hand grasped it tightly as it immediately was brought up to her face. She sunk all the way to the floor and crawled down the hallway with the all too present urgency. She moved as quickly as she could with one hand busy as it held the cloth over her mouth and nose. It was hard to move swiftly with only one hand available, but she tried her best. With the dread sinking deep into her chest, she made her way down that hall.

Once or twice, her skirt caught in some piece of furniture that adorned the hallway. She had always admired the selection, but now she knocked them over in her haste, ignoring the crashing sounds she left in her wake. Her mind could only process the sole goal of finding her family. Over and over again it replayed. Had a luxury such as a record player existed, her mind would be a broken one.

The rhythmic sounds she catalyzed behind her kept sounding as she past room after meticulous room. She paused for not even a quick gasp of breath in looking at them. It seemed minutes to to her, but maybe it was only a few blinks of an eye. Her perception of time had become so contorted that she couldn't tell how long it had been, but she found a sight that made her stop dead in her tracks.

All sense long forgotten, she remained still. Her eyes adverted in every direction immediately, and she could not even imagine calming down. Down this hallway could be her family. Their rooms were down there, but there was something in the way of reaching them. The fire was blazing right towards.

Once she collected her bearings and mind, she practically self-scolded herself at freezing up. Any moment of hesitation in the presence of fire could kill her. She had heard stories... She knew this house could not stand up to the sheer power of the element that was fire. Neither could she. And despite how her stomach was swirling out of control, at the thought, she knew she had to turn back without looking for her family. They may have faced the same dilemma she had and made the very same decision as she. They could be out there right now, waiting for her.

So she stifled the tears that were threatening to happen, from that thought, and she took off at her fastest sprint with both hands clutching the cloth. She was hit with coughing again and tearing eyes. The smoke collected higher up. She had already come to know this, but this was given as a very unpleasant reminder of the fact. Her torn skirt billowed behind her as she ran. The end of the hallway where her room was seemed as far off as it could ever be. She felt like she was making no progress. Behind her she could hear the fire feasting on a banquet, namely her home. It had an endless appetite, and it followed her far too fast for her liking.

She was coughing and wide-eyed now as she pushed herself even harder, literally almost crashing into the wall at the end of the hallway. She turned around for a moment, and what she saw then made her want to throw up. Running and dancing across the hallway wildly came the sickening sight of orange flames. This was her first real glance of the element destroying her home. Yes, the village's plight had been seen through the window, and she had seen it crackling at a distance before she ran back.

Irrational thoughts began to race through her mind. Each one became even crazier than the last. There was not a single coherent. She could not fight cringing back at the heat that was gushing from the area, and she had to take several steps back as the flames started dancing and fanning out even closer. She knew she had to keep going, and stop looking back. Well, her brain had interpreted this information, but she was still in the process of trying to _move_.

She ran into her room with fear churning her stomach rapidly. If it wasn't such a critical moment, she would have thrown up right then and there. But there was no time for that. She'd get out first. Then she could puke all she wanted. So, clutching her stomach with one hand (the other still holding the cloth), and she ran over to the window.

Her one hand left her stomach to set to work with opening the drapes. She could only stare at the sight that met her. The small town was being devoured by the flames. She had to avert her eyes from the small child left behind near the exit of a house close by. She did not know this child. She didn't go out often as she was sheltered by her family, locked away most of her life. But she felt regret for not meeting this child who was burnt alive by the flames. It spread from his pants to his shirt to greedily feed on his hair. Orange and yellow and red and back again. She felt dizzy. But with her incessant coughing especially, she could not play this off for a dream gone very awry. This child's death only reinforced the fact firmly. Her home was being destroyed.

She didn't even notice the tears running down her cheeks. With a burning temperature sweeping across her body again, she turned startled at the flames that had entered her room. Her one hand worked desperately, but it was proving futile against the latch. She was already coughing, but with the drop of the cloth, it increased tenfold.

With both her hands free, the small fingers went to work. She whimpered under her breath in anxiety. Each hand only seemed to hinder the work of the other one. She took a deep breath that unfortunately only resulted in several more coughs. The flames were licking at her skirt hem and feet now. It was taunting and laughing at her. It thought she wouldn't get out. She had to. They'd slowly torture her to her own grave. Her wet green eyes were pools of a single and very frightening reflection. And all that could be seen was the hungry fire in that reflection.

She could not contain the scream of terror that resounded from her mouth when her skirt fully caught on fire. And from all the coughing, from all the smoke, and the all too warm sensations, her throat felt on fire too as it seared and fought at the action it was performing. She could feel the burns biting and stinging relentlessly on her feet and legs. And the fire was only spreading... She did not want to end up like that boy that died right before her eyes.

With eyes like that of a wild animal, her hand secured the final motion of opening the window. It was with relief that she climbed up with difficulty, desperately scrambling, groping the window sill desperately. The determination paid off as she threw herself clumsily through her one way out. The drop was none too pleasant. She landed with a thud on the bushes below. Yes, it was not graceful, but she was glad to be alive for the moment.

She realized her mistake rather quickly. It was like a slap to the face after committing a bad deed. The open window provided the fire an extra supply of fuel, namely oxygen. The flame was already jumping out the window. Standing up, she winced at the burns on her feet as she fled. With horror, she saw the fire on her clothes was fanning out at the movement of her running. Stopping rather abruptly, she spotted a trough used for the horse's water. Wild horses were not common in this forest inhibited area, but enough had been claimed by the wealthier residents in the town that a trough could be located on her now burning block.

Throwing caution to the wind, she fully sprinted towards it, squeezing her fists tight at the pain on her lower back. It was scorching hot. She felt like a branded animal. With a satisfying splash she landed in the water. Sitting upright after a moment, she moved her dripping wet hair out of her face. She choking slightly but her throat was glad for the moisture. This water could have been muddy, and she would find it pleasing. Sputtering out water from her mouth, she breathed heavily. She had never run so much before in her life.

The water was soothing to her newly acquired burns, but she had to get out of here. One look around told her that. She saw her house in the distance starting to collapse. She didn't want to look at the sight. She turned away quickly, scooting out of the water. Dripping wet and soaked to the bone, she spun around quickly, trying to figure out where she'd go now. She remembered her family, and she looked in a full circle around herself without finding a trace of them.. She let the tears come. Her feet took her where they decided. All around she could hear screams of those being burned alive or those trapped within a fallen building. She kept her eyes to the ground for the majority of the time. She didn't want to see anymore. Unfortunately she couldn't stop herself from hearing them all constantly. The people who were fortunate enough to escape even added to the commotion. They certainly didn't keep their wits about them by running around like chickens with their heads cut off, crashing and bumping into each other as they were.

Although she herself did stumble upon people and immobile obstacles, it was certainly the very last thing on her mind. She could never measure quite how long she had run, but it seemed an eternity before she tripped over the ground itself and consequentially fell towards it. Being messily spewed out in the dirt road was not ideal as the ever persistent flames were only growing. The sudden gusts of wind were not helping.

People took no notice of her being a breathing creature as they stumbled over her, a few of them falling down and getting right back up. She would have moved faster herself if she hadn't heard a couple coming out of a flaming building, ushering an injured child desperately. Her sensitive ears picked up that they were heading towards an impromptu shelter in the direction she had been going before she fell. She had been running aimlessly. She hadn't even knew there was a place for the town to gather in case of a disaster.

She got up with new determination, grimacing only slightly at the dirt that had annoyingly burrowed under her nails. She'd worry about that later, much later. At least now she knew where she could head now. And it was definitely where she was headed.

Despite not knowing exactly where it was that she was heading, she realized others had to as they all were heading in the same direction. There was also the fact she never let the couple who had disclosed the information to her out of her sight. They were on the brink of the horizon at the most, and in those instances, she hurried even faster than her already quick pace.

Along the short journey, she saw people jostling out of buildings, although it became fewer and fewer as she went along. The fire had spread faster than she could possibly travel, and in its wake, it had no doubt left death. It was inevitable.

The trip led her out of the burning town, into the forest that surrounded the village. The civilization had always been encased in a varied forest. To the south of the village, the forest was more humid, home to buckets more of rain. The east sported a drier climate with an expanse of tree suited for the conditions. The west was mild in all its attributes. Where they were heading though was the north, and it was an area of a slightly cooler climate. Fortunately, it was not too noticeable, and it even had a lake embedded in the northwest. During the winter, it froze over, cutting off a source of food, namely fish.

Fortunately, it was not winter, and the group steered directly northward out of the burning village, through a forest that was just starting to spread forward. Everyone picked up their pace accordingly. Being barbecued alive was not on the top of their priority list. And a fire had a very filling meal with a forest present.

She was left confused, however, as to where this shelter could be. She could not recall any structures in the north, although she followed blindly on. There was one building that played at the brink of her mind, but it was far too ambiguous to even recognize in her state of mind. She'd find out soon enough.

Her feet took to a careful procession of steps as she continuously jumped over tree root after tree root. The twining vines, slipping and sliding past barks of old and new trees, inhibited the dark brown earth. The same ground housed countless small creatures that took to crawling past her bare feet. More than once her foot slammed into some obstruction whether living, namely a brusque spindling vine or root, or nonliving. In that case, it would be a inconvenient stone or clump of dirt. Her feet not only was bruised in companionship of the burns, but also caked in dirt.

They certainly went well with her scrapped clothing and cut arms and legs. Each time she passed too close to a branch, it had a chance of slicing across her flesh in an array of different severities. Most were barely skin deep, but others brushed further, contacting blood.

With these new sorts of souvenirs of her trip through the forest, she sighed with relief at noticing the forest was getting less dense, and if she was not mistaken, there was a clearing from the endless trees up ahead. It would make a spacious area that would offer a little buying of time if the area was to be surrounded by flames. As she followed the short line of people in her sight, they brought her to exactly what she had predicted. It was a clearing.

The small thought tugging at her mind then increased its force, and she realized exactly why they had ventured over here. There was that stone building, that opened up with heavy iron doors that then steadily descended into the ground, and the stones of which the building was made meet the earth in response. She did not want to go in there, and she saw other people hesitating, but all eventually went in, seeing the flames coming in their direction from afar. She too reluctantly went in. The dead were in this building.

Two people were holding the doors open for the survivors to enter through, and she followed the group of people in. Her momentary hesitation had left her behind a few people holding a closed coffin between them. She shuddered to think it was a new victim. Was her family in their own already too? How had they done it so fast? Were there many extra coffins just waiting inside or around the area? She couldn't see any so far...

She stepped in cautiously, twisting her head left and right for any sign of something dangerous. All she was getting was a dreary feeling. It was pretty dark inside as the light from the door only let in so much light. Torches were lit on either side of the long stairwell, and she was very thankful for that. Although the fire was more than likely taken from the destructive fire that had destroyed her life, she preferred not to think of it like that.

Her mud covered feet took each step slowly as the other people did. Once inside, people slowed their pace, taking in the area and probably letting everything sink in. The seemingly endless stairway finally ended in a spacious rotunda with several hallways leading from it in several directions. The group of people who had been in front of her stopped and dropped the coffin to the ground in the middle of the rotunda. One of the carriers bent over and opened it up. She was already prepared to look away in horror and disgust, but she was surprised at the real contents.

It was a coffin full of water. No wonder the carriers had been so numerous. She knew water from experience was heavy although those experiences had been few and far between. They must have struggled over here with its contents being what they were. As she scouted out an area to wait for any signs of her family, no matter how slim the chances, she overheard them saying it was from the northwest lake. Yes, it must have been a long and hard trek.

But when she thought about it, so had hers. If you could call it that.

_--e--a--_

She had eventually settled in a rather shadowed part of the round room. The still lit flames of the torches flickered over her face in the particular spot. The dankness of the area, however, left her wrinkling her nose. She drew her legs even closer to her body, in a somewhat vain attempt of heating her body up. Sure the flames provided minimal heat along with light, but it was not nearly enough. It didn't help that this was north of the town where it was slightly chiller. And it being fall, it was steadily getting colder. Although the lack of warmth was hardly all to complain about. The smell of the enclosed shelter was admittedly pungent and unpleasant.

Even though the building was made up of stones, a convenient material against fire, its visitors, rather refugees, had come in all vulnerable states influenced by the flames. With their coming, came dirt, grime, and ashes. She never wanted to see ashes ever again in her life, that's how many there were. Outside before she came in, and in here where she had confined herself to, the amount was overwhelming. Constantly seeing the black substance brought back the flames in a mental visual she was sure she could never lose. It was vivid to the last ember.

Even at her feet lay a pile of ashes. She had brought it in herself. This is what happened when your clothing caught on fire; it turned into ashes. She wanted to hate everyone for bringing in the rest of the black annoyance, but she had done the deed too so she held her tongue. Besides, no one she had known in the village had ever come in. Although the number of people had been very limited in the first place. With her family rarely letting her out (and even then with some sort of accompaniment), she was restricted basically to her family and dinner guests she doubted she could recognize. Others still of those guests had come from travels, spending a short while before heading off in their own separate directions.

She ran her eyes restlessly over the cobble-like ground, and the dank feeling was reinforced. Pooling, and running in small rivers, water was all around. She winced each time someone stepped in it, splashing the water in all directions. It was not the water she hated. It was why it was there, and how it affected the feeling of the room.

Of course, the water being present was self-explanatory. She was haunted with people coming in covered in flames. Several splashes of water later, the person either stood drastically burned or dead. Although those all who had died had been carried in so that those who had helped them had suffered horrifying burns. The only thing she could be thankful for over that was that the motionless bodies were brought out of her sight. The scent of death and the sight of it too would worsen the conditions even more as far as she was concerned. She would just marvel at the fact they had made it all this way while on fire. She hoped that would keep her distracted, but it was a daunting task to forget it all. She wasn't sure she could handle it.

And she just had to think about those coffins full of water... She had forgotten that the coffins hadn't come from nowhere. She had actually seen one of those coffins being emptied of their timeless occupant. She could barely even stare at the stored water anymore. The dead had lingered where the water now claimed its place.

She shook her head lightly, trying to clear her mind. It had become worse as days turned to the next. This was her third day now, and only when it was necessary did she clamor to her feet in search of food. She liked to sit in her own little space, away from all of those she didn't know. This was no exception for a small group of children that had situated themselves only about ten feet away. They thankfully were mostly quiet in each other's presence and kept to themselves. She had noticed, however, that they sometimes glanced her way.

There really weren't many options for her now. The possibility that she was an orphan was unbelievably high, and she had to do something about it. A few traders had come by offering future positions in their trading circuit. Some orphans had been interested it that field. Others had been focused on the merchants offering apprenticeships. She had heard that also representatives from the two closest orphanages were coming by. Signing on the line for that orphanage contract meant that she would have to work away her life until she came to age to get a dirt poor job. She didn't exactly want that although that route had guaranteed housing and food. She really was at a loss as to what to do now. However, there had been more pressing matters like food to look into.

She was leaning against the wall as she always did now, unhooking her arms from around her legs to grab a small bite of bread. It had been given to her by a man making his rounds with food. She tried her best not to wolfishly devour it, but it proved difficult. She was not getting enough food for her complaining stomach, but there really was not much of a remedy for that. She knew supplies were very low even when people had finally come by to assist them in their dreary situation. Travelers and traders came this way all year around, and before she had heard the adults speak optimistically of their eminent arrivals. Others still had cursed the slow coming of the visitors, ever pessimistic.

People had looked forward to the arrival so much because many had saved coins before they fled their houses. It was funny those same people didn't have all the members of their family accounted for. She, however, had neither family nor coins to speak of to her great dismay. She had only been able to hope like the others who were just as unfortunate that the visitors would offer free supplies. Whether out of pity or goodness, she would take anything. Some had been more stubborn, but at that point, the world stubborn was not in her vocabulary.

It felt like it had been forever, but people did come. Vast groups of them came. Some were simply travelers, moving from one province to the next for the upcoming holidays. Some were parts of various trading groups who felt they needed to offer supplies at huge discounts. One group she hadn't expected was supposedly an element support group. Or rather that was she had heard people mummer around her. It came to her attention that perhaps they weren't just that.

They did, although, bring many supplies with them, food being the number one priority on her list. She had ventured over cautiously to a woman giving out food to survivors and had happily accepted some decently fresh fruit. Never had a peach tasted so sweet.

What set them apart was that they were obviously very inquisitive, and they got very personal. When she had received the fruit, the woman had asked what her past condition and present one was. She had wanted to know if anyone had been seen counteracting either of the two elements, the wind, she said, was obviously the second one. She had barely even remembered the wind, so horrible had the fire been. But about this received set of questions, she would realize much later that she had been asked because of strategy. There was a much better chance that a child would answer truthfully and not suspiciously. She had.

She had told the woman she had been very well-off and now she knew no one of relation that was alive. That and she was starving. And, of course, she hadn't seen a single person doing anything against the fire or wind. The woman frowned thoughtfully at that. She, being totally oblivious as she often was, nearly forgot about the series of questions. Her mind had latched itself upon the concept of getting something in her stomach. She took her food, and she settled back in her designated spot, hoping to achieve a new companion: a blanket.

She was still without a said blanket now, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw a small group of strangers beginning to hand out more. She could only assume they were a part of the group that had came claiming they were there to get the town on a jump start on restoration. And that group would be the element support group. She didn't jump to her feet like many others at the free item, and she opted to sit back and wait for them to come to her if there were any left over to do so. She wasn't desperate enough that she'd go like an animal into that jostling crowd. She'd like to continue healing the old scraps and bruises. She didn't want to add to the collection. She only had so much nutrition to cure herself with as it was.

As it turned out, patience was perhaps the best method. She had a small run in with luck, and she didn't have to wait all that long. A man was holding a few warm-looking blankets in his arms, whom she saw was accompanied by a younger person, a teenager at that. Together they were stopping by and engaging in short conversations with people who had not jumped at the chance for blankets like herself. The two of them had picked an opportune moment when most people were distracted by the first few people who had been giving out countless blankets. It's true that they had far fewer blankets between the two of them, but they had significantly less people to attend to. She sat there, clutching her legs, hoping they would make their way to her, and her wish was granted.

"You wouldn't happen to want one of these, would you?" The first thing she had seen was their feet, and then as she looked up, she set her sights on the two males she had sighted earlier. And what she wanted to see most of all was in their possession yet. Actually there was more than just one unclaimed. There were still a few left. She was fairly certain she was getting of one of those that were remaining.

"The blanket? Yes. Please." The cold was far less as persistent as a rumbling stomach, and she managed just fine to remember her manners sufficiently enough this time.

"Here you go then," the teenager's smile was infectious, and she let a small smile slip across her face. She scooped up the wool blanket as it landed gently in her lap. She took no hesitation in unfolding the material, wrapping it around her lower legs before pulling one edge around her lower torso. She expected to see them already gone when she looked up after the deed, but she was surprised. They didn't look like they were quite down.

"Um, thank you?" That was all she could draw from the situation, and yet they made no move for leaving. She herself didn't feel very convinced at those words.

"You're an orphan, aren't you?" She looked at the man incredulously. Was it really that obvious?

"Yes, I'm an orphan." She spoke tentatively despite that she was naturally trusting. Everything was beginning to surprise her. She resorted to bowing her head maybe out of respect to them or just shyness. Not that she was shy, but she never had much opportunity to socialize as someone as young as she should. She had had to settle with that. There wasn't much she could have done.

"Why aren't you with those other children?" She followed the man's hand gesture, landing her gaze on that group of orphans. Why wasn't she? She had already gone through that.

"I don't know them." This conversation was getting a little less awkward, but it just may get more strained as time went on.

"Are you going to sign an orphanage contract like them?" She started to stare with scrutiny then. Those orphans were going for the contract. Did she want that too?

"I'm not sure. There's a lot of choices." She could of swore the teenager's smile grew just a bit wider at her words.

"You wouldn't mind one more offer, would you?" She numbly found herself shaking her head.

She expected one of them to explain right away what this offer was, but she didn't receive words. Her gaze had rested on the ash and water laden ground before the latter stirred. In a fixed strand, the water wound its way up from off the ground into the air. It twisted like a dying animal before her eyes before worming its way towards the man's outstretched hand. His palm closed, and the gasp dying to escape her lips finally did. Out of his fisted hand, the water seeped slowly before it increased in speed. It streamed out in a controlled spectacular array. The water landed in several small droplets around the three of them.

"You're- you're one of them!" The words were out of her mouth without a thought, accusing him of exactly what he was. There was a pause, and she let it sunk in. He was a part of this group of people who went and helped those affected by disasters created by the uncontrollable elements. And that group asked a bunch of questions that were really unnecessary for their job. They supposedly knew a lot about the elements... They wanted to know all about the elements here... Were they all elementalists?

"Do you want to become one too?" The pause was broken by the man's words, and she gazed back at him with wide eyes.

"What?" Once again, taken by surprise, she couldn't think of anything to say. Well, anything intelligent.

"You are a water elementalist."

"I'm not a water elementalist. No one in this entire province is an elementalist!" His words were still sinking in, but she had to deny it. He was accusing her of something she wasn't allowed to be. Something terrible.

"Yes you are. You aura is mixed with the element of water." He said it calmly, but she was stubborn in knowing he was wrong.

"No it's not. People would know that. I would too, and I wouldn't be here. You shouldn't talk anyway! You all should be removed from here." She clutched her new blanket in her fists.

"You want to rid what you are. Irony never ceases." He had her getting angry while he stayed calm. She knew about his type of people, and she'd tell him that too.

"I know what you're like. You should all leave before I tell someone about who you all really are. We don't want you here."

"And who will you tell? You hang away from everyone like they are a disease. And even if you do tell someone, who will believe you? You have no evidence."

"They'll believe me..." Her volume slipped lower, and she lost some of her confidence.

"Just listen. You are an elementalist. No one knows it because you probably didn't have any signs of it at your birth. There are rare cases of late bloomers."

"No, that's impossible." She would deny this for as long as she needed to.

"How about this? If I could prove to you that you are an elementalist, would you consider coming with us?" She squeezed her hands shut hard, and she considered it. She had heard about them, who hadn't?

Elementalists. They were people who had one or more of the elements under their own control. Some of them were out for hire if the area was under excessive abuse. Others were trained under highly experienced elementalists for reasons that she was not aware of, but people were convinced money was the root of this course of action. What kind of elementalists were they anyway? This group was somewhat large, so she doubted they were of the first type who sold their talents. They hadn't made a penny since they stopped here at the very least. Well, as far as she knew.

"What do you do? What kind of elementalists are you?" The two of them found a smile at this.

"Every one of us here is a small part of a very large group. We train our own respective elements in order to finally subdue the elements completely."

"You mean, you train your elements to end all the bad things the elements are causing?"

"You caught on," the teenager remarked. It had been his first words edgewise in a while, and he didn't let it die just yet. "You're smart for your age."

"She is, but I remember you being smarter." The sheepish grin was given in response along with waving a hand as if were to cancel out his words. She had almost thought they had forgotten about her, but then they directed their sight at her again.

"Do we have a deal?" He extended his hand down towards her. She was still sitting against the wall. She said nothing to him, but she took his hand before she let him help her up. He didn't let go of her hand immediately once she was balanced on her feet, however, and he took the liberty of shaking it. And even then, he didn't release his hold. He shifted his hand over hers, and it gripped it firmly. She looked up at him in curiosity before settling on staring at her hand which was feeling strange.

First it was a slight sensation, but then it was searing. She emitted another gasp of breath, and she clenched her free hand. Right before her eyes, the places she could pinpoint the pain to was flaring up blue until a soft and very soft blue glow surrounded her hand. His grip on her hand lessened, and it was very loose when he spoke.

"Focus on that drop of water right there by your foot." She looked down, and she thought she'd get a migraine by the intensity she was creasing her forehead with. "Not that much." He laughed, and she blushed lightly out of embarrassment.

"Now, touch the tips of your fingers together." She did as she was told, and she waited impatiently waited for something to happen. He said he could prove it to her, and now she half believed him. It was not every day her hand glowed. Actually, it had never glowed.

"Slowly lift your hand. Move it in a series of directions if you feel confident." His hand raised first, and hers did too. Nothing happened. "Don't lose your focus. Concentrate." She once again stared hard at the lone droplet. This time she lifted her hand, and it moved. It slid up right before her eyes much like he had down with his strand of water. He let go of her hand and took a few steps back. The teenager was smiling warmly. The droplet was still swimming in front of her eyes, but she her fingers split apart, and the water drop fell downward.

"That was good for your first time," the teenager commented. She didn't meet his eyes. Rather they closed as she fainted.

_  
--e--a--_

Her eyes blurringly met another pair as she reluctantly opened them. The strange pair of orbs betrayed curiosity in their prison of amber. She could not yet focus fully on the beholder, but the face looked young enough. She managed to control her eyes enough to blink up at the unknown set. It was then that the pain registered. The hiss escaped her lips, and the owner of the unknown eyes dipped lower, hardly blinking, staring intently at her. She felt like she was an experiment under close observation. She wanted to speak up and say for the person to stop staring, at least so openly, but the pain was a bit too distracting.

She, however, drew the line when she glimpsed and consequentially felt the person poking her arm. The young person drew back enough for her to know this was a young boy, most certainly not old enough to be a teenager yet. Based on the look he had given her, it looked like he deemed her as a possible threat of some sort, but she wasn't about to know why that was. She heard a feminine snort, but it sounded a bit too far away to be the person who was so rudely poking her. Besides, a second sweep of her eyes definitely confirmed this was a boy. A rude one at that.

She bit her lip harshly, noticeably wincing as she propped herself into a half-sitting position with one arm. The person before her fell back further in response, increasing the distance between them to her utter relief. The person was far enough away now, and her eyes cleared for her to identify the stranger to be around her age. She didn't dwell on it long as her free hand found the back of her head quickly, nursing it softly. Sitting up abruptly had just made her vision swim again.

"Don't be an idiot. Lay back down. You shouldn't be moving too much right now." Her eyes worked mechanically around her, but she still sunk back down in submission. Her head hurt hard enough as it was, and she did see much point in refusing this second stranger's request. Although this didn't change the fact that she wanted to know who the other person talking actually was. The voice had been distinctly feminine, and the only person she could see was a male. It was probably the one who had unceremoniously snorted.

She heard the light footsteps made on the floor that was also placed beneath her. Her mind put two and two together and she knew she was on a wooden floor of some sort. The footsteps sometimes produced a sort squeak. Perhaps each high pitched noise was produced on a loose floorboard. Her thoughts quickly stopped at this conclusion, giving away to the pain. She closed her eyes momentarily, but she opened them again to meet with different eyes. The owner of the set was standing with only their head directed downwards, making the most confident eye contact that she could ever remember having.

This girl was definitely older than her. She had to at least be a preteen which would make the stranger a couple of years older than her nine years of age. Her eyes flickered to the side and at the boy again. The boy, however, still registered her age in her mind. She could not estimate ages too well in her state, but she held on to her guesses.

The boy made his way into her direct visage again, making her put her thoughts of age aside. She saw his mouth open before the words came out, and she mentally prepared an answer. However, he seemed to think that introductions were beyond him. Instead he came up with a question she hadn't been expecting. She didn't like to be caught off guard.

"What's your ability?" He seemed to be the type that tried to get straight to the point. She blinked, clutching her head for all she was worth. She had to think about this answer. Her memory almost as blurry as her eyes had just been. She finally managed to recall most of the fire incident and her eyes widened at the memory. Her family and town! But what had happened after that? She looked up again at the boy's expectant face and the girl's apparent nonchalant feelings on the current matter. She decided she'd better figure out what her ability was. She didn't know who they were, but she had a handicap, and she didn't want to anger them.

"What do you mean ability?" She answered at last, trying to stall for even a moment. She was childishly annoyed at the scratchiness of her throat. She hadn't used it for a while then. Or maybe the smoke had done it. She remembered the smoke very well.

"Your element, of course. Did you really hit your head _that_ hard?" She couldn't tell if that was a a bit of a snobbish side showing or if the boy was simply lacking manners. She wanted to scratch her head, but she found that wouldn't be a very smart idea, and she settled in blinking at him some more before answering. It took a little bit of time for her head to produce the answer.

"Someone said I had water...?" She couldn't keep the question tone out of her voice, but the boy seemed to ignore it. In compensation, he was already looking disinterested instead. The girl was simply raising an eyebrow down at her. She, on the other hand, was left mostly trying to remember who had said that to her. If she thought hard enough, she could picture the water running on the dirty floor of a stone building... She had done something with that water, but she couldn't remember what. And why was she here?

"That's too bad. That's the weakest element. I have fire and earth." She looked up at him, unable to stop the semi-glare. Yes, he didn't have much manners. He stood with his side facing towards her, arms crossed at his chest. She couldn't help but feel slightly offended. He had interrupted her thoughts too.

"Really now? Last time I heard you collapsed trying to use earth. You really can only use fire." The dark locks of her hair moved correspondingly as she swayed her head up and back down again. She took a good look at the girl on the wooden floor stiffly. The younger girl's head was still throbbing especially with each heartbeat, but she was happy someone had put down the boy at least a little in his egoistical ways. "What's your name?"

She looked up into the eyes of the older girl, only to fall into an intense gaze. She collected her wits hurriedly, giving off an uneasy smile.

"Kinomoto Sakura," she answered at long last. Sakura had half a mind that they thought she didn't know her own name. "What about you?"

"I'm Rae Meilin. This is Li Syaoran." Sakura absorbed the new knowledge with a small, slightly more comfortable, smile.

"What is your... um ability then, Rae-san?" Sakura asked the question innocently enough through the pain, but Meilin only let her expression turn very sour, very quickly. Sakura felt like wincing, but she wasn't sure how Meilin would react to that.

"That's all you people can think about, isn't it? I'm so sorry for _disappointing_ you, but I don't have any." Sakura felt her smile slip. That wasn't exactly how she wanted to start off with a complete stranger.

"Oh." That was all she could say. Meilin scoffed under her breath before casting her gaze at the state of Sakura. She sighed before adopting a slightly concerned look.

"How's your head? You remember being out in that fire, don't you?" Sakura was a little confused at her question of concern, but she knew it was better than to ask. "You have some nasty burns, so you should remember. We got them wrapped up while you were out."

"I remember most of what happened in the fire, but my head is still hurting, and I have a mixed up memory. How did I get here? Where is this?" She tried looking around again, and she had the sudden feeling that the room was... moving? And was Meilin suddenly looking devious?

"Welcome to your marvelous, _first class_ stagecoach. Actually, that's a lie, but Clow-_kun _did it again. He's bringing in orphans with any ability under the sun. He makes everyone believe he can fix nature by raising up more of them. All he's really doing is getting rich off of suckers like you two." She curled a strand of hair around her finger.

"It's Clow-sama to you, Meilin. You shouldn't call him that. You're just jealous that he has control over all four elements." Syaoran defended, casting a strongly disapproving look at her while still looked childish doing it. It was like he was trying to be an adult, but he couldn't change his age without time.

Meilin huffed as her response, but Sakura could only be amazed at his words.

"Really?" She interjected, forgetting that she didn't receive a direct and straightforward answer, "All four of them?" Meilin rolled her eyes.

"Close your mouth, girl. You'll let flies in." Sakura cooperatively closed her mouth with a click as one row of teeth met the other. However, Meilin's words made no effect on her astonishment, and she was greatly pleased when Syaoran confirmed his statement.

"Hai. Fire, earth, air, and water. He's got the weak one you have, but he also has the real strong ones like mine. Especially fire. That's the strongest." Sakura stared at him, miffed about his insistence of bringing that up. Unfortunately, she knew nothing about the elements so it was impossible to deny his statement.

"Honestly, Syaoran. You're so vain." Meilin muttered, but the other two could not make out her quiet words over their own conversation.

"Why is water so weak?" As much as the words annoyed her, she was still feeling puzzled as to why it was true.

"Because water just is. That's the way it is. Everyone knows it too. Whoever has water is almost always weak. They're just dead weight."

Meilin sighed, crouching down on all fours to glimpse out of a small hole in the low wooden door. The hole was perfectly cut, and it was definitely done on purpose. She had done it herself with a rather sharp knife. She closed one eye as she brought the open one towards the hole.

"Huh? What makes the people who have water weak too? I don't get it."

Meilin's eye blinked a couple of times as it looked through the small circle. She satisfyingly found that no one was in her line of sight. The room was actually more like a wooden cart used for carrying supplies. Or in this case, people. It had a worn out, practically musty, smell that Meilin had found herself cringing at, but by now, she had gotten used to it. The cart was almost entirely closed off from the outside save the back of it. The back of the cart had a low set of doors to prevent cargo from falling out. With the carts being used for people, they had put up a set of curtains to cover up the wide open space from the top of the doors to the ceiling.

"Because they have water!" He insisted. "Water is weak, and lots of people hate it like me." Sakura tilted her head at his words.

Meilin now stood up, and she drew back the curtain, leaning her upper body over the pair of low doors. The breeze felt nice out here. Her hair and her dusty face relished in its soft caress for a moment before examining her surroundings. They were leaving the heavily forested area. They were leaving this goddamn province behind. Just like countless others. It wasn't anything special. Although she had to agree with their policy on elementalists. Elementalists, of course, being those she shunned: people with the ability to control one or more of the elements. Come to think of it, she may have preferred growing up here than in her own hometown. With the regulations here, she wouldn't have had the same pressure, same disappointments.

"Why do you hate water?" She spoke again as if it was an after thought, "Because it's weak?"

Meilin stopped her enjoyment of getting some fresh air at Sakura's words. She closed the curtain abruptly, grabbing Syaoran by his hair and dragging him a foot. He had his mouth wide open, already prepared to answer Sakura's question. Now he was squirming, obviously in discomfort. Sakura was impressed that Meilin could get a strong enough grip in his short hair.

"What did I tell you?" Syaoran looked defensive at Meilin's question. He crossed his arms over his chest and frowned.

"I'm not stupid. I wasn't going to say that." Meilin gave him a disbelieving look for a moment before prodding him with his foot.

"Sure." She didn't sound convinced. "Just make sure you remember. Be careful." She gave him a light kick on his back without paying attention to his glare. She looked back at Sakura who, sure enough, was still laid out on the floor. She really hadn't moved.

"He had a bad run in with water. That's all you've got to know." Sakura broke the eye contact, feeling just a bit guilty. But then again, hadn't fire killed her own family?

"My family was killed in that fire." Sakura whispered, but she didn't shed any tears. The three days had helped to let her get used to her status as an orphan.

And this was a big step. This was the first time she had outright said they were killed. She was already moving on, but then again... She felt like she didn't want to. She didn't want to bury the past and just start over. What would she do now? She still had no idea where she was or why. Maybe if her memory wasn't so hazy...

"Girl, don't you think we know that? Clow-kun told us. Well, he told Syaoran. I can't believe he entrusted him with your welfare. Good thing I'm around, or you may have somehow fallen into some ditch by now."

"Hey!" Meilin ignored his outburst and opted instead to kneel beside Sakura who stared up at her curiously. And perhaps she was a tad bit worried. Meilin seemed very unpredictable.

"It's getting sort of annoying talking to you on the floor. I told you not to move, but I think the dizziness should be about over. Ok?" Meilin had a lazy look about her as she asked.

"Um... ok." Sakura left it at that, and Meilin dragged her carefully towards the front wall of the cart with the bundle of sheets she had been laying on in tow. She slowly propped her back against the wall. Sakura's vision swirled again, but this time she found it cleared after a frenzy of blinks.

"Of course your head will still hurt, but I think it's an improvement," Meilin spoke, extending a hand out in the direction of Syaoran. She brought her fingertips together several times before Syaoran responded by throwing over a pillow. Sakura let out a breath she hadn't known she had been holding. It was just that that hand gesture seemed awfully familiar. Meilin took no notice of Sakura being slightly startled, however. She just set the pillow in Sakura's lap.

"There you go. I'm not a nurse, and I'm not going to act like one. So don't expect me to baby you. Or for him to wait on you hand and foot either." Sakura held the edge of the pillow and played with the fabric before lifting it up to put behind her head. She accepted her words with an almost indistinguishable nod.

"Hai." Meilin seemed satisfied with that as she got up. She carelessly swept her hands across her outfit in an attempt to get rid of the clingy dust. It was expected to be there. This wasn't exactly what someone could call first class traveling. What she had said with sarcasm before had definitely been a lie.

She retreated into a corner of the small area, where it was noticeable darker. Syaoran probably took it as his initiative to settle down in an bundle of sheets, leaning much alike Sakura against the right wall. He had one foot tucked away in his dirtied sheets, but the other one was sticking messily out. Sort of like his hair, Sakura noted.

"Meilin, where are we?" Meilin had picked up a leather bound book and had laid out a jar of ink and quill. Now she paused in lowering the tip to the open page. She looked up slowly, shaking her head.

"We're leaving your home. We're moving on." Meilin didn't direct the answer back to Syaoran who had asked the question in the first place. Instead she looked over at Sakura.

"My home? I have to get off! I need to go back there." Sakura had no idea where exactly they were, only they weren't too far yet. Meilin had said they were just leaving. It couldn't be too far back.

"You're not going to run back with your head still bruised like that. You'll probably faint. Again." Meilin gave her a soft smile. Sakura wasn't sure if it had any secret meaning behind it. Meilin leaned forward and continued to smile.

"Besides, you're on board now with your own decision. No going back whether you want to or not." Sakura felt her stomach drop at that. No going back? And she had decided to come? What exactly was she forgetting here?

"On board of what, Rae-san?" Meilin raised an eyebrow at the way Sakura addressed her. She obviously didn't expect something so formal once she had started calling the younger female by the name of "girl".

"Why you're a new inductee of Clow-kun's project of course. You'll be spending the rest of your childhood working your way up. In fact, you'll be spending the rest of your life in his program. And if you ever get to be the top Water apprentice, you get to go off and die. Makes you wish you hadn't hit your head, huh? Or pretty much having ever agreed to this in the first place."

"What does that have to do with anything?" The prospect of dying didn't go over too well with Sakura, but she instead focused in on Meilin's latter words.

"Maybe one day I'll tell you. If you get far enough, that is." Sakura felt a bit more than just cheated with the answer she received. Meilin only smirked down at the book in her lap. A quiet snore brought both of their heads in the same direction.

"Uh. He can be so weird sometimes." Meilin rolled her eyes at the sight of him. Sleeping half in and yet half out of his covers. One stray arm was flung across the wooden floor. His eyes were temporarily closed for the moment. There was that methodical rising and falling of his chest.

"But if he's asleep, that's not so bad. I have something to tell you." Sakura redirected her eyes at Meilin. It was sort of hard to tear her eyes away from the cute sight. But she did, especially when she felt Meilin's hand on her shoulder. The older girl leaned down, whispering close to Sakura's ear. A very quiet whisper.

"You never saw me. I never existed. The only person you've seen since you've woken up is Syaoran." Meilin stood up, with a finger pressed against her lips in a sign of silence. Sakura looked beyond confused, but Meilin stared her down. "Remember that."

Sakura watched her retreat to her corner, and she dipped her quill in ink again. She looked up meeting Sakura's eyes suddenly, tilting her head to the side. Sakura took it as sign to stop staring at her. Although she could not imagine why she had to pretend why Meilin had never existed, she decided to comply for at least now. She slid down the wall and cuddled up in her sheets. The thin mattress that she had awoken on wasn't of the level of comfort she was used to. She'd have to get used to it. She'd have to get used to wherever they were going too. She wanted to remember what had happened, but she wasn't sure she ever would. Had what she forgotten placed her into this mess? Into this cart that occasionally hit pebbles in the earth road?

She looked over at Meilin again who was calmly writing. It was probably her diary, she thought. That made sense enough. There was no need to look into things when her head was throbbing. It was nearing the end of summer now, but the warmth was definitely still present so that the blankets were enough for her. She didn't feel that they protected her from other forces though. She felt alone.

But worries were forgotten as her own eyes dropped. It was still early evening with light out still, but fall asleep she did. And she fell completely into the helplessness she had just worried over.

Meilin put down her book, surveyed the pair of sleeping children, and sighed. She'd have to make sure Sakura didn't talk. She hoped it wouldn't take too much trouble. She didn't need any more problems. She had a lot of work ahead of her. Lots to plan. She put her book down as she got to her own feet. Her footsteps echoed on the floorboards, but nobody was awake to hear them.

**Alright, this is a huge stretch for me. For one, it has a whole new world. Secondly, it's a long fic. I'm thinking twenty-two or more chapters at this point. And if this chapter was any indication, this is going to be long not only in the chapter sense. I almost want to apologize for that. I didn't even think it would reach eight thousand words, but you know how it is. Or maybe you don't. Next chapter will be a while though hopefully nowhere near as long as this one took me. I got this fic idea in November, and I know for sure that I started writing it in December.**

**Any who, this is a Fantasy/Romance/Action/Adventure/Drama type of story. You can probably expect to see more genres though, knowing me. I hope you enjoyed this first chapter, but I hope even more that it hasn't scared you off. Tell me if it has by reviewing, and I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible. It just doesn't help that I'm too busy for my own liking. Please be patient. This is a huge story, and it takes time. I just promise an original story if you keep reading.**


	2. Rain

_**Elemental Aeon  
**Kesshou Uryou _

**Act I**  
**Chapter II  
Rain**

_Drip._

_Drip._

_Drip._

_The bridge of his nose received a water drop. The restless grating of a rushing sound was already being produced, and it struck him, like any other person, completely unnatural. It was loud, continuous, gaining in intensity, and it was becoming monotonous due to its repetition. Anything recognized for enough time sunk into the background. That's the way it was._

_He left the sanctuary of his own room that swooped down with a low ceiling and was well furnished. Through the hall he scrambled, concentrating on the all too present gushing noise. It had to have an explanation. It sounded like it was coming from outside so he headed to a large glass window in the next room over. He hoped to get a peek at the source of the sound. He came forward quickly, pushing his nose against the glass. His eye set to the task of searching for the cause of the disruption of normalcy. He didn't have to wait long. His vision was almost completely obstructed._

Meilin remedied the second situation with a quick prod of her foot. None too delicately, she disrupted her victim. Her right foot had found itself at work as a substitute for her hands. The pair of them had found themselves currently occupied over her very own head, and she opted for the less strenuous solution. It was much easier not to set down the cloth she was clutching, get off the small crate, and bend over the restless yet sleeping figure.

Meilin's solution proved successful as Syaoran stopped his quickened breathing and his sleepy rustling. Syaoran stirred and awoken, in a mixture of states. His face played off confusion, drowsiness, anger, and terror all at the same time, making the strangest combination of expressions that Meilin had seen for a long time. She concluded that as she spared him another quick glance, summing him up quickly.

"Just a dream, Syaoran. Keep it together." Syaoran scrambled out of his makeshift bed, surveying his surroundings. Sure enough, the mundane cart stared back at him. There he was in his own little secluded area, and Meilin was right there too, pretty much preoccupied. It was another problem from as far as he could tell from the corner of his eye. Yes, everything seemed to be in good order, but he hadn't looked over at the other side of the cart yet. There was a sleeping girl who didn't quite fit in with the picture that he had painted in his mind. Then her arrival was remembered after the sleep started ebbing away, and some of his confusion dwindled.

However, even as the memories most definitely surged back, it didn't explain the trickle of water on his head. There were only a couple drops, but that didn't alter the fact that they existed. He knew this was not an effect of just waking up. There was water. He always completely sure when it came to the presence of water. Times like these he'd be on his toes.

And then Meilin at work registered in his mind. She was balanced up carefully on her tiptoes, wavering only in the slightest in her position. She looked as if she had placed her feet very carefully on a sturdy wooden crate. In her hands, she had scrunched up an old rag that she must have found lying about. It could just be his imagination, but he could see each wet thread of that cloth standing on edge, gently brushing against Meilin's light skin. Each time it did, he winced just slightly. Maybe it was for his own sake, but he told himself that it was for hers. The cloth look like it had been dug up from a particularly bad junk pile. And why exactly did she need a cloth raised above her head in the first place?

It clicked in his mind as he continued to watch the scene play out. A water droplet produced itself from the ceiling, thickening until gravity took its toll. It landed in the extended cloth that Meilin had so patiently waited with in her fingers. Her futile attempt of reaching the ceiling where the source of the problem lay, however, was undoubtedly useless. She was too short for that even with the small crate.

When it looked like he had woken up enough, not to mention calmed down, to be of any use, she stopped her very small and carefully placed jumps atop of the crate. There was a better way to fix this problem now.

"Syaoran, can you give me a hand here?" He gave her a look before she glared in response, stepping right off the crate and pushing it aside with her outstretched foot.

"What do you want me to do?" He got to his feet, his hands falling to his sides after they supported him in getting up. It was only just in time that he got them up in front of his face to catch the slightly damp cloth. Realizing what it was, he wrinkled the back of his nose with his lower arm. This thing couldn't be sanitary.

"Get on my shoulders and do something about that leak. I'm sure you're the last person who wants water coming in here." Grumbling, he knew that she had made a point and came closer as Meilin knelt down before him, grabbing his calves as he sat atop her shoulders. Carefully straightening up, she looked up to see Syaoran's handiwork.

There was a small crack that adorned the ceiling of this cart. Sometimes water wormed itself through its passage in small proportions. She had noticed this problem a long time ago when her common case of boredom came over her. She had this cart down like the back of her hand. She proudly claimed that not even one spec of dust was unaccounted for when she was concerned. Syaoran was battling this sign of bad wood, poor construction, or simply old age as she watched directly below. She banked on the latter although the other two wouldn't surprise her considering the certain opinions she held when it came to everything related to "Clow-kun."

He readjusted his grip on the raggedy cloth, hoping he could do this job without having to go beyond his two fingers clutching the material. Unfortunately, even he knew this was a lost cause, and he wrapped his fingers around it for a good hold. He forced his small fist at the small crack on the ceiling, running along its entire length. He had to spread the cloth lengthwise as he ran the thin material through the small line, taking a little more effort than he would have liked. Meilin didn't appreciate his required extra movement as she was the support of both of them.

"Stop fidgeting, Syaoran. Haven't you gotten it already?" Meilin could feel a crick in her neck coming on as she looked as far up as she could go without endangering the younger child that sat atop her shoulders. Syaoran, meanwhile, gave the cloth an experimental prod before he satisfactorily left it alone.

"Hai." Meilin sighed in apparent relief, loosening her hold on his lower legs for him to immediately jump down from her shoulders. He first swung his left leg so that it hung down the length of her back, grabbing her neck in the process. He followed with mirroring his right leg to the left one before loosening the grip his arms had momentarily held. Meilin came to rubbing her left and right shoulder alternatively, slightly wincing. Syaoran couldn't tell if she was kidding about his weight or not. With Meilin, you were never a hundred percent sure.

"You're too heavy." She left it at that. She rested her hands on her hips, keeping her eyes directed at that annoying crack. Syaoran was laid out on the floor, his limbs spread out in all directions as he gazed at the same spot. A sudden large jolt of the cart caused a sudden and quiet mumbling before it died out. Syaoran's eyes strayed from the ceiling to settle on the newcomer. Meilin seemed unaffected, but she was the one who commented.

"You wanna wake sleeping beauty or what?"

Syaoran grumbled out some unintelligent response which Meilin took with a small smile. She shrugged a little before another rough shake of the cart commenced. Syaoran took it lying on his back with no precautions, but Meilin had to extend an arm to meet the wall to steady herself. Over the sound of the stumbling cart, a small hiss came. There was no other out of the ordinary sound produced, and the road must have cleared out soon enough although it had been an unpleasant minute. Meilin searched for the cause of the noise, and she found it to be as she predicted.

Sakura was sitting upright, clutching her head with a grimace. It must have banged against the wall, and it was still a tender area; there was no doubt about that. Hitting her head wasn't exactly the best way to wake up, and Meilin could tell that by her facial expression. Not that it took much imagination to figure that out.

"Ow," Sakura mumbled, resorting to holding her head with only one hand as the other came to rub the sleep out of her eyes. "I wish you had woken me up instead of letting me wake up like that."

"Sorry, but at least you're awake. Besides, I think the road has gotten rough because we're stopping for supplies now." Meilin let a little concern lace her words as her mind traveled past where her words stopped. Restocking meant that she got to gather information easier. She always had to be up for that. Not to mention the food she could gather.

"What's so great about that?"

"Well I don't know about you, but it's great for us. We get to explore the town or buy things there until we move on. Everyone can leave their carts to meet up with each other or do whatever else they want to. We're not the only cart you know. There are a lot more." Syaoran had sat upright, ever stubborn to defend one of his favorite happenings.

"Explore? I've never seen any other town but my own. This'll be fun." Sakura gripped her blanket with thought. She had no idea what other towns would look like. She hadn't even heard too many descriptions from the visitors her family had received. This would be interesting. She happened to glance down, and she lost her smile a bit. She was still wearing these burned up rags. "But in this clothing should I still-?"

"I know someone who could help you. I'll send you to her before we head out into town. You can borrow a cloak of mine for now." Sakura took in Meilin's idea with a nod, getting up and then halting with a revelation.

"It's really raining hard, isn't it?" Syaoran nodded, and he took to getting up to take a small peak out of the curtain at the back of the cart.

"It is. Sometimes it just rains all day likes this so get used to it. It really is all about on where we are. Once it rained for five days straight. That was the worst. We were moving so slow." Syaoran was looking like a bobble head what with how many times his head dipped back up and down in agreement, mostly in response to his own words.

There was another rumble just then although it turned out to be the smallest of all three so far. A quiet whinnying came in response. Sakura looked surprised.

"That sounded like a horse." Meilin gave her a critical glance. Syaoran seemed to have tuned out their conversation as he took a small peak through a little opening he made between the two matching curtains.

"You're kidding right? What do you think makes the cart move? The elements?" Meilin gave a dismissing wave of her hand.

"Well... yeah. There are elementalists here. It makes sense." Even Sakura didn't look so sure of that statement. She already knew she had lost the disagreement.

"How exactly would an element move these carts?" Meilin was on the edge of dropping even her slightest of efforts to hide her incredulity.

"The air pushes it?" Sakura's eyes drifted to the floor. Meilin rolled her eyes, but Sakura beat her to commenting. "Never mind. But if the horses move the carts... isn't it really bad for them to be out in this rain?

"Well," Meilin smirked, "Now you're right. They are elementalists. They keep their coats dry from the water." Sakura's eyes filled with understanding, but there was no time to say anything on that subject as the cart suddenly halted.

"We're here!" Syaoran springing to his feet with this comment, jostling to his little practically marked off area to grab a cloak that Sakura had not first seen. Meilin went to grab her own, a deep and dark red one that she instantly drew the hood of up. Meilin fished out a gray cloak too and Sakura caught it when it was thrown her way. She lost no time in slipping it on, tugging the hood on. Syaoran was already out, and Meilin and Sakura were hot on his trail when Meilin suddenly stopped in the one and only exit looking as if she had been struck with a sudden thought.

"Oh, and there are no drivers. Each of these horses is trained to be sensitive to certain air movements. Sort of like a crop. You know to get the horse under control. It's really useful." Meilin let Sakura absorb that for a moment before grinning like Sakura had never seen before. "Now let's go. And remember, I never existed." She wagged a finger, before she too was off and running through the thick rain.

Sakura followed as fast as she dared to go without fear of losing her footing on the slippery ground. She always kept Meilin in sight, identifying her by her deep ebony locks whipping through the wind. Meilin had taken off in a weaving pattern through a procession of carts. As Sakura ran around one, she could always see Meilin's hair flash as she darted around the opposite side of the next cart. If Sakura didn't know any better, she would have thought she was trying to lose her, but it got to the point where the chase finally ended. Taking greedy gulps of the moist air, she spotted an impatient Meilin, waiting beside an opened cart that was much like their own except appeared to be a little less old and a little bit nicer. It actually had some decent furnishings along with being doted with several carefully stacked crates. At the very least, it had to be credited for neatness.

As soon as Sakura came into hearing distance, Meilin spoke up, wasting not even a moment's worth of time. "Here she is: Daidouji Tomoyo. I have to find Syaoran before he goes and kills himself." Those were her parting words as she rushed off, Sakura losing sight of her in the rain's obscurity. Sakura swiveled on her heel and looked up into the cart to discover someone she hadn't first seen. It was a pale girl who had a friendly smile, holding an umbrella in both of her hands.

"Daidouji-san?" Sakura asked tentatively. The girl gave a quick and confirming nod. She took the small difference in height from the back of the cart to the ground in one graceful swoop, holding the expanded umbrella up as if in an offering to the sky. It was a splatter of vibrant colors, conforming themselves to make the picture of an imaginative bird. It swirled the tones together perfectly in a way that Sakura couldn't help but admire. It was a work of art. The object wasn't amazingly effective in its entailed job as it was one of those converted parasols for the use of rain: an umbrella. Still it got the job done. The sun-purposed parasol got a wax coating, and it showed its glory in the rain too now.

"It's for you too. A cloak is nice, but it isn't the best for rain," Tomoyo offered her as she walked over, shifting her hold to cover them both from the nature's seemingly endless agony. Sakura was startled but didn't challenge the action, falling in step with the girl. "Meilin said something about clothes, but I'm sure you'd rather visit the town first, right? Everyone gets excited about that."

"Daidouji-san, where did you get that umbrella? I've never seen anything like it..." Sakura was guilty of barely paying attention. Her eyes had been glued to the decorative possession.

"Oh, just something I picked up, Kinomoto-san. Sadly you won't be able to get one here, but we are sharing." Tomoyo already saw the surprise coming, and she answered without missing a beat, "And Rae-chan told me your name." Sakura accepted this, clutching her hands together as they walked along a line of numerous motionless carts. She took to watching the resting horses, some pawing the ground anxiously, knowing they'd be needed soon again. A couple people were walking around with treats for the horses, and they came prepared to untack at least a few of them. Sakura noted that the four-legged creatures were all dry like Meilin had said.

"So how do they do that? Are there water charms or something?" Tomoyo smiled, but she kept looking forward, not giving the majority of her attention to the horses that were being seen to by others.

"No. The water elementalists take shifts to keep the horses totally dry. Everything must seem weird here, but you get used to this sort of thing when you're around it all the time." Sakura took that without much of a question. Things would take some getting used to, but no one else here found anything out of the ordinary. No one was surprised.

"Tomoyo!" Tomoyo halted at the call, but Sakura was not prepared, consequentially taking a couple extra steps forward before scuttling back under the small shelter, brushing off the plethora of water drops she had just received. Tomoyo had captured the caller in her sight in the meantime.

"Rika-chan!" Sakura turned to see a honey-haired girl who offered a shy smile to both Tomoyo and herself. Tomoyo gestured to this other girl and then to Sakura as the perfect hostess. "Kinomoto-san, this is Sasaki Rika. Rika-chan, this is Kinomoto Sakura."

"Hello," the newcomer spoke, exchanging a similar greeting with Sakura. She noticed that Rika boasted a similar umbrella to Tomoyo's, but in her eyes, it couldn't compare to the beauty of the one Tomoyo owned. Still, Sakura was envious because any was better than none. Rika's displayed a deep brown and fully green leafed majestic tree, and it was nice to look at in its own right.

"Rika-chan, I just remembered, I have what you asked me to get. I hunted it down as soon as we stopped, and the man was standing right by with it as usual. It's safe and sound back in my cart. Will you two wait here for a minute?" The two addressed girls glanced at one another before dipping their heads in the affirmative.

Tomoyo dashed off, disappearing from their limited sight, and Rika graciously moved over to share her equally small umbrella. "What element do you have, Kinomoto-san?" Well, it was almost always the safe route to go. Everyone seemed to let this question escape their mouth first when they met her.

"Water. What about you?" The girl's eyes brightened and a smile matched the change.

"Me too. Do you know little tricks or anything yet?" Sakura considered it for less than a second. She definitely did not.

"Um, no. Is that a bad thing?" Rika had a hint of laugh there.

"No, of course not. That's why we're going to learn how to use them. Some people know a few things though. Here let me show you this. Can you hold the umbrella?" Sakura took it without a word, trying to be fair in sharing its shelter. Rika had a very lax right hand as she brought it to the tip of the bottom of the umbrella's material, extending her pointer finger in the direction of a drop on its slow way towards its inevitable descent. Her teeth clicked together in concentration and the drop was under her control, following the direction her hand went sailing through the moist air.

"Wow." Sakura would have been speechless if she wasn't talkative by nature. She heard of people controlling the elements before, but she had never seen it done before. It was just that she felt like she had, and Rika's demonstration wasn't as big as it should have been. Although it was still something to be jealous of when it came right down to it. Sakura knew absolutely nothing.

"Now look at this." Sakura's eyes followed obediently after Rika's outward right hand as it moved again, spreading her fingers apart to let the drop rush to meet the ground. Sakura's neck traveled with it on the way down. She thought it was over then until Rika made a sudden motion with her hand, only slightly prior to fisting her hand. A sphere of water was formed, encompassing around Rika's small fist. Now that was amazing. And Sakura couldn't get her tongue to work quite right.

"That's... that's a... that's a- like a river, you know?" Sakura had resorted to pointing at it and making wave motions with her other hand. Rika laughed.

"Yeah, it flows and moves gently like water you're swirling around with your fingertip." Sakura nodded in agreement, extending her second finger ever closer to the moving blue mass that shone off of the few stray rays of sunlight that came from amid the cloudy backdrop. It had that very bright blue hue, an almost completely clear and see-through appearance that water garnered at the very edge of the shore in a place where it was endlessly sunny. It was hard to believe that Rika had collected the falling rain drops into this small ball in just a moment.

"Is it okay to, um?" Sakura didn't finish that question as her finger came forward a little faster than she intended, breaking through the surface of cool water. She shivered slightly; it was colder than she had expected. Then again the water was formed from cold water. This wasn't summer or spring rain. Autumn was showing its evidence.

And then the water splashed to the ground. Sakura hadn't even realized it, but she had disrupted Rika apparently as she looked a little off. Sakura had already put on her apologetic face, but Rika exchanged her slight frown with a smile.

"It's alright. I just got a little distracted when you did that." Sakura cocked her head when Rika had used a breathy voice to utter those words. However, her mind focused on her guilt especially since Rika had splashed some of the water on her own lower legs, darkening the light brown pants further than was normal.

She didn't voice it mainly because into her peripheral vision came an object of desire. It slid from her left, falling into the hands of Rika. She would have pouted out of disappointment if she hadn't thought it rude. Sakura instead tightened her hands around the handle of the umbrella she was still holding, wavering it over toward Rika's side a bit before straightening it upright between them. She freed a hand to wipe away a couple drops she had received from her action.

"Thank you, Tomoyo. My friend back home will love it. Her birthday is soon." Sakura hadn't even noticed Tomoyo there, and she turned her head to look at the bearer of gifts. Unfortunately there just wasn't anything for her. "I'm going to mail this right now. I'm not sure when we're leaving so I should just do it."

She had already taken off at a slow pace, waiting first for Sakura to slip underneath Tomoyo's umbrella. Tomoyo stared her off, leaving a few parting words, "I heard it's to nightfall. Be back by then!" She then directed her attention to Sakura, and they both started walking again, continuing the way they had originally been going. Sakura had fallen to watching the ripples made in the small puddles that she gingerly tried to avoid.

"Before we leave, I'm going to order one for you." Sakura jerked her head up with a startled expression directed toward the older girl before letting a smile slowly sink into her childish features.

--e--a--

Meilin's fingers ran over the length of it one more time, securing it shut with one last crease and tug. She approached the office, exchanging the right words, and it was as good as delivered. She didn't have the convenience to use the specially arranged and paid workers to receive items like her traveling companions, but with a good ear, she knew where they were heading, and she got what she needed fast enough. A couple times they had veered off the planned course, but they had looped around for those who had things waiting for them at the missed stop.

Meilin only ever picked up one thing, but it was important for her to keep living as she was. She depended on these coins when she couldn't steal away enough food. Before too long, things began to look suspicious, and she had to lay low. That's when stocking up when the group did came in handy. However, unlike their set, hers wasn't for just anyone. This reserve was for her alone when there was nothing else to keep her hunger at bay.

With some other key essential information given, she watched the man working fish out her reward. It came in a very small box of purely brown hues, certainly nothing to look at. The short scratchy notes she wrote out were delivered. In turn she got her little compensation. She resisted the temptation of twirling off that ribbon around her nimble fingers until she was outside again, stepping into a jostling crowd that couldn't be kept away even in the rain. This town obviously was in a good location for trade, and it showed it.

Hidden in a veil of strangers, she took to slowly opening her treat, enjoying the series of clinks it produced as one of her coins meet another. It left a happy feeling sink into her chest as she heard her coins' noise mingle with innumerable others. It was almost as if she belonged here, but she knew better. Business was bustling, and the people here thrived. This wasn't like her home, and that unsettled her. She let herself stray from everyone's wandering eyes by blending in with everyone that was trudging forward. No one spared longer than a moment on the person in the corner of their eye. She had her cloak to remain hidden and feel separated when she needed to do so.

Envy radiated out of her over how people smiled here, but she didn't show it. They were so very lucky. Few, if any, "incidents" had occurred in these town boundaries. But it wouldn't last long; it never did. All it was momentary peace and rest before disaster came. There was an inescapable outcome for this town.

Just like- never mind that. But where was that boy anyway? She worried over him in a crowd like this. She never knew what kind of trouble he could come up with; he seemed to attract it like a magnet. She had left him on his own half an hour ago, but there were no rioting ensuing so she could only shrug, recounting her money. She'd have to think he still had his head on correctly. She'd find him after she took care of some pressing matters first. She was no mother, and he knew that at the very least. She let him do what he pleased for the most part, worrying over him in her own way. Besides, her job was never over. Still, she'd make some time later to hunt him down. He wouldn't be hard to find if she knew him like she was sure she did.

Although there were a few surprises still left in that boy.

--e--a--

"Tell me if it's too tight."

Sakura hadn't even realized at first that she had been adorned in bandages, but she knew now that they ran along her legs and lower back. It was probably a given that Meilin and Syaoran hadn't mastered medical practices so Sakura would have straight out eliminated them as the ones who had administrated the white constraint. Tomoyo seemed the perfect nurse, and she acted like one. Sakura was not surprised when she heard that Tomoyo had first fixed them as she was nimble with her fingers as she administered the process all over again.

"Ouch. Too tight." Sakura held the wince longer than was necessary as Tomoyo softly apologized, absorbing herself completely in her work. Tomoyo really appeared to know what she was doing.

"Daidouji-san, where did you learn how to do this?" Tomoyo paused to look up, mouth slightly open. She took a slightly larger than normal breath before drawing her lips together.

"Tomoyo will be fine. I learned back home. I liked medicine." She fell silent then, and Sakura knew she had to keep the conversation going regardless that she was still processing to call her Tomoyo in the future.

"What's it like there?" Tomoyo gave a small knot a little tug before she freed her hands to wipe them on a cloth. Before the bandages had come, creams for the burns had, and some of it had been persistent in the act of sticking to Tomoyo's fingers.

"It's home, Sakura-chan. It's a nice large town nestled near a foot of a mountain. You can spend so long staring up into the peaks that you can make your neck sore," Tomoyo smiled at that like she knew exactly about that because she had done it. Sakura could see Tomoyo's face take on a nostalgic look while she subconsciously filed away her new name when Tomoyo was concerned.

"We get snow there every winter, and it's probably more than you've ever seen. It's colder than where you lived, that's for sure. Almost half the year you can see your breath turn into puffs of smoke. When that happens you go out everywhere wrapped up in cloaks, furs, and coats of all kinds, bundled up until you can reach a fireplace. If you're not careful you can get frost bite, and then you've got to rush to..." Tomoyo shook her head suddenly and laughed sheepishly at her tangent. "Sorry about that. I haven't thought about home in a while. She spoke so calmly, but Sakura vaguely thought she looked like she had just woken up from a bad dream although she hadn't look discontent during her little description.

"You haven't thought about it? I haven't been able to stop at all yet!"

"That's because you just left. It's hard to imagine, but the memories of your home are going to disappear. You're only going to remember a little about it no matter how hard you try." Tomoyo adopted a sympathetic look.

"How far have you been gone now, Tomoyo?" Sakura could not remember being so curious in her past. When had she started?

"I don't know for sure. I think more than a few months. I already told you that I don't think about it much."

"I just don't get it. How could you not? I don't really know about anything that's going on around here, but it seems boring. All you do is go around helping towns after they've been hurt?" Tomoyo laughed a little, stretching out her legs and staring at her toes as she flexed them.

"It's we now, Sakura-chan. You should try getting used to it. And no, it's not as simple as that. I guess it makes sense that I'm traveling with these elementalists because I'm okay with medicine, but I wouldn't be here if what you said was right." Sakura didn't stay quiet to see if Tomoyo was done or not.

"Well, then why? Why are we all here? I could be wrong, but," Sakura said as she leaned forward, comically staring intensely at Tomoyo before continuing, "I don't think you're an elementalist." Tomoyo twisted her fingers together, but Sakura didn't notice.

She was too busy thinking. Tomoyo was elementalist too, and so far she had found nothing to prove the hatred that people on the streets talked of constantly at her home. Daily news was full of it back there. Sometimes she'd open up her bedroom window, listening to some loud conversations on the matter or overhear her family talk about it. Her family had never pushed it, and often didn't see eye to eye with those who were prejudiced. Still, she had always thought and been under the impression that elementalists were bad people. She was starting to settle down here and worrying less that they'd hurt her. If she really was an elementalist, she had a fuzzy memory of someone proving it her, then maybe she'd fit in here.

"Wrong again! I am an elementalist; that's why I'm here. Let me explain something to you, okay?" Tomoyo had stood up, stretching her arms behind her back. She shot Sakura one glance out of her corner of her eye that had come back to listening to Tomoyo. The pale girl saw the nod she received before looking ahead again, out of the back of the cart she normally occupied. It turned out that Tomoyo made her residence in a cart that was full of medical supplies. It was sort of like an empty mini-infirmary, Tomoyo saying that other carts like this received more furnishings. The curtain above the doors had been drawn back which had let in some rain, but it offered a nice view through a picturesque rain storm.

"See, we are here under Clow Reed's program. This program is... well, like an apprenticeship. You take your element, and you train it. Now I know that you know about all these problems with the elements. The goal of this program is to fix those problems. Sure, we do work with the places that are in really bad situations after the elements have torn them apart, but that really isn't the point." Sakura had burrowed her hands in her skirt, entangling them in the process. Tomoyo had leaned against a wall and closed her eyes.

"We want to stop any of these problems from happening again. To do that, we need to get to the source of the problem. The elements. We train to tame the elements, but we aren't alone. You can hear many people right here talk about others. Other people out in the world try their own ways to fix things. It's easy to see no one's been successful. Clow Reed's program has been going on for a while now itself, and so far nothing has changed. Still, people like us join it, and we hope for the better.

"Of course, not all people believe in the same methods. Everyone that you'll meet in this traveling troupe agrees this is the best way except for one person. You met her, Rae Meilin. I'm not sure if she doesn't agree with Clow Reed's program because of something personal against him, or if she really doesn't believe in our methods. That doesn't matter though, it's just that we all try, and in our case, we keep trying. People will tell you we're crazy because the way we're taking so far has always meant death, but I think it's better to die trying than to just accept everything." Tomoyo took a pause and whether it was to breathe or to open her eyes, Sakura wasn't sure.

"I didn't tell you that last part because I wanted to scare you. I wanted to warn you. It's already been decided I was going to do this, but you weren't really given much of a choice. When we get to where we're going, you're going to be asked to sign up under your element. I'll be signing up under air, but I want you to think whether you want to dedicate years of or, maybe all of, the rest of your life to training water. Don't be pressured to do it. It's natural to be scared and nervous. Death is scary especially when you're so young. You can say no. There are a lot of people who would do the same thing, and many of them haven't even left their homes. They're the people, elementalists or not, that decide that they would want to live without the risk and just leave the world like it is. You can even stay with the program because you're offered options for those who want to help out who aren't elementalists. If you like medicine like me, you could spend time on that. You still get a home, job, and the food that an orphan like you needs."

Tomoyo pushed herself off the wall, but Sakura was concentrating about everything Tomoyo had just told her to really notice. There was a lot more to this than she had ever even dared to imagine.

"How do you know all this?"

"It's what I do. It never hurts to keep your ears and eyes open. You learn a thing a two. How else would I know you had water and were an orphan?" Tomoyo offered a hand down to Sakura who stared at it for a moment before taking it. She hadn't even thought of why Tomoyo would know her element or the state of her parents.

"Tomoyo, you sound like an older sister. How old are you really? Do you have a sibling?" Tomoyo cocked her head.

"How old are you, Sakura-chan?" She started her way towards the back of the cart, stopping momentarily to push open her small umbrella.

"I'm nine." Tomoyo clambered down, and she held the already at work umbrella over her head, keeping her mostly dry.

"Then I'm an only child whose one year older than you."

Sakura made her way down to the ground too, and she instantly sought the extended umbrella to share with Tomoyo. The sun was close to disappearing for the night by now. No longer was it just a little after noon when the sun was just beginning its descent down to the earth. They had both spent their time watching the bustling interaction and doing a little exploring around the town before Tomoyo and Sakura had gone off to bandage Sakura and find some suitable clothing for her. It was a little large, but it would do, and she didn't have to make due with charred clothing anymore. Over that course of time however, neither knew where Meilin and Syaoran had made off to on their own. It was hard to make out people in the midst of the activities. But now each stride brought them closer to their destination, and they couldn't avoid the consistent splashes their feet made on the way.

--e--a--

There was the slightest of puddles lapping gently against itself and the wooden floor as the cart continued to stumble along. Nothing seemed to deter it from its route except when a stop was in order. That instance had come when they had stopped for supplies. Then the carts remained motionless, blending in with their former kind: trees. But that time had passed, and now it was drifting through mud and stones alike as it dragged along the people who had taken a rest from the relentless rain inside of them.

Meilin was one of those occupants. She found herself on this endless rainy day inside a cart like all the others, leaning forward with an almost predatory smile, shifting her hands to get a better grip. She bent over a spot on the floor, studying the object carefully that was sticking out of the jumbled array that had spread out a little further than had been intended. She'd have a mess to clean up later, but for now, she wanted to finish this. She just had to make sure she didn't do something stupid.

"Meilin!" She jumped up and instantly covered what her hands were grabbing by protectively holding them up to her chest like a mother holds their newborn child. Meilin frowned warningly at the one who had interrupted her train of thought.

"You didn't see anything, right?"

"You say that every time, Meilin. I didn't see anything," Syaoran whined. Meilin held up her glare, but she settled down enough to decide what to do next.

"Good. Then you didn't see this coming." She proudly flung out one of her several possessions onto the floor, and then came a seemingly perfected and unified grumble. Then again, they had had a lot of practice.

When the rain came, it usually came in two very different ways if the elements weren't out of control. It could settle down to come and join the land for the entire day. Its second choice was to pay a nice short visit before disappearing and leaving some nice souvenirs behind, namely a little water. Although the former had the overwhelming tendency to leave behind too many gifts, and unfortunately, that was what was happening today.

The rain had been pouring down since yesterday when they had stopped for supplies, and it had made no sign of letting up any time soon. The dark, threatening clouds left the sun a recent memory for now. And the conditions being as they were, it was only natural for people to seek refuge. Meilin had returned to her self-proclaimed cart sweet home along with the cart's two other occupants after her brief escapade in the confusion of restocking. The three of them had brought in another straggler this time, but the temporary addition had come in quite pleasantly enough, having already been introduced to the threesome on very different terms. No one had come to object to Tomoyo's indefinite presence, and they had found themselves trying to pass the time in some entertaining way.

A pack of cards had provided the answer. Tomoyo had dragged it along with some of her other personal belongings from home, claiming she had taken her mother's advice on bringing the brightly colored objects. It was a wise decision when days like these came along. In fact, it proved itself a smart action practically all the time for most of the day was spent on the move. There wasn't much time to jump about, and children had to be occupied in some manner.

There was only one problem with it. Well, other than sometimes it got boring, but at least they sometimes picked up new games from the places they had traveled to. But no, that wasn't exactly the dilemma. It was that Meilin almost always won, no matter what the game. Naturally enough, this brought about the dissatisfaction of the other players.

Tomoyo wasn't exactly the most competitive spirit in the world, and she had resigned herself to playing just for the entertainment. Sakura, having never played cards until this day, had come in with the mindset of expecting to lose. So she had been left only slightly disappointed by Meilin's obvious winning streak. Syaoran, on the other hand, was by far the most upset of them all. Meilin and he had taken to a relationship where they usually tired to outdo each other. He had her beat under the elementalist category, but he was lucky if he won once or twice a day when she was playing. That was enough to leave him grumbling the loudest and frowning the most. He was doing it now, and it was for obvious reasons. Meilin had won another hand.

"I give up. I didn't think cards would be this hard," Sakura conceded, placing her collection of cards face down, readjusting her position to wrap her arms loosely across her knees.

"Meilin always wins; I don't why I keep trying anymore." Syaoran had sprawled himself out on his stomach, and he burrowed his head in his folded arms.

"You'd think one of us might win a little more. I wonder... how do you do it Rae-chan?" Tomoyo had sprouted a soft smile, and Meilin had half the mind that Tomoyo had actually figured it out. She changed her mind, however, upon studying her for another moment. Tomoyo was innocent enough, and no one had ever figured out what she'd been pulling off for years now.

"That's a secret." Meilin offered a small smirk, and she fanned out her winning hand with a flourish. Sometimes she likes to put on a show. Plus, it always grated on the losers' nerves. She liked to be the best. She didn't always get a chance to flaunt it.

Tomoyo already opened her mouth partially, ready to reply when the cart came to a rather abrupt stop. The sloshing of the mud as the wheels shifted it all aside stopped consequentially, but that had been barely heard it with the backdrop of pouring rain. All the same, it was a large difference in sound by itself, and on a sunny day with no strong gales, the ceasing of the sound would have left things oddly quiet. In this case, however, the rain certainly left nothing concerning sound to the imagination. Although by this time, the rain had let up a bit in intensity. It probably wouldn't be long until it started drizzling, which would be a welcome development.

Sakura leaned forward, letting her palms hit the floor. Her eyes trailed Syaoran who was already at the back of the cart, grabbing the end of the side wall for balance. His feet dug into the low set of doors to keep him safely inside as he swiveled his upper body around the wall to get a peak ahead of the cart. His head had turned back around to the other three, his face already showing evidence of the rain. He subconsciously flicked his wet bangs out of his eyes, but he made no move back towards where they were sitting.

"It's a town. It looks like we stopped to help. The ground's all shook up." He drew back the curtain for a moment before he jumped up over the low doors and out of sight. The curtain showed a glimpse of the slowly letting up downpour outside before it fluttered back to its customary place.

"Don't kill yourself, alright?" Meilin yelled after him, staring at the exact place he had just occupied.

Sakura sat up straight in her spot with an excited gleam occupying her eyes. What did this town look like? She had been barely paying attention to the scenery as they had moved on, and besides the stop for supplies, she hadn't seen another town than her own. This was all still very new to her young self. Now the curiosity of life outside her home was calling her name for the second time, and she stumbled after Syaoran calling out his name before unlatching the doors and jumping down to make her feet meet the ground. She turned around and hooked the doors shut again, hiding herself from Meilin and Tomoyo's view. They could, however, hear her muddy footsteps drifting farther and farther away until all that was left was the rain again.

But it didn't last long as other people's footsteps came in a frenzy. It was probably worse up ahead as their cart seemed to usually find itself in the back of the group. Meilin fetched a blanket in case of an emergency and settled back down in her spot.

"It must be something big. I think the rain will be joining a few screams tonight," Tomoyo sighed.

"I think it already has." Tomoyo shrugged at that, a little uncomfortable. She had yet seen anything first hand, and the prospect made her uneasy. They both knew death was going on out there somewhere, and they also knew they were letting two small kids out into the havoc, especially a girl that probably was not quite prepared for it. Still, this was what their lives had accumulated to now, and they weren't going to leave this cart tonight. They were sure they'd get more than enough details when those two came back. Those details would be nothing new either. Things like this always happened. Tomoyo opted though to change the subject.

"Li-san doesn't notice anything. Sakura-chan seems just as in the dark." Tomoyo had set about to readjusting her clothing. She had been raised to be meticulous about these things. Meilin looked over at her, studying her carefully. She only let her eyebrow rise once again. She had been doing that every time she heard Tomoyo call Kinomoto that. It was strange for her to hear it. As far as Meilin knew, the name change suddenly happened during the card games, but Sakura remained completely unaffected by the development.

"What are you talking about? They're kids, just like you."

"Yes, but you'd think they would notice eventually." Tomoyo shot Meilin her innocent smile. Meilin was beginning to question how authentic it actually was.

"Notice what?" Meilin didn't hide her narrowed eyes.

"That's a nice mirror there, Meilin. Did you pick it out yourself?" Meilin gave a soft frown to that. Tomoyo had her innocent smile reinforced. Well, she had been pretty stupid for underestimating Tomoyo, which meant she'd have a lot of explaining to do. The explaining she had been trying to avoid for a while now.

"Alright, fine. I've been using that trick for as long as I can remember. That doesn't mean that I'm no good without it."

"I didn't say that." Meilin sighed.

"I'm not sure if I'm regretting letting you call me Rae-chan or not, but it looks likely. Why don't we just play another game? No tricks." Meilin hoped to get Tomoyo's mind off of what she was expected to explain and on to safe territory.

"Alright, you deal." Meilin made fast work of that task, and they both set out to study their hand. Tomoyo never let her smile droop. "Eventually I'm going to get you to tell me why you address each other so casually. You don't talk as familiar with anyone else." Meilin paused in rearranging her cards, but she recovered.

"Focus on the game, Daidouji."

--e--a--

"Wait up!" Sakura at this point was panting. She was no professional when it came to physical activities like this. For so many years, her intelligence had been what had been stressed by her home schooling. Now she was being left in the dust. It didn't help that other people were running amok in the chaos that had descended in this unfortunate town.

In some ways, Sakura found herself spelling out her home in the landscape although it was most likely because of the great number of trees that dotted the area. Sakura liked nature herself, but she never really put her mind to the matter of learning the names of trees so now she could not name the predominant one here that she had seen back at home. However, the forested parts were not nearly as dense or numerous, and her home certainly did not have high cliffs. Some of the houses were even sketched into them, and others yet placed their foundations atop of the monstrosities. Up there Sakura would toss in her sleep over worry of falling off. Now those fears seemed to have taken flight. The town was obviously suffering from earth related problems. Even she could tell that.

The rain that was still ongoing had turned the ground into mud, and neither Syaoran nor Sakura in their haste had come prepared for either condition. Still, they did not turn back. This time Sakura had the benefit of Syaoran who seemed to run slower than Meilin had, but they still went to work in weaving through the series of abruptly stopped carts that were part of the elementalists' procession. However, there was also the disadvantage that came with the good.

When they had stopped for supplies a day ago, people had taken to leisurely coming out and in, but now as she ran she had to fend off a series of random people coming out and running in seemingly crisscrossed patterns around her. As she turned one corner, she'd always have to sidestep one or two people before catching sight of Syaoran again. Somewhere in the back of her mussed up brain was a very high pitch and shrill sound. Other snippets of words were beginning to worm through one ear and out the other. They were strains of noise that were easily forgotten as she relished in knowing and seeing that Syaoran was slowing down.

"...north of town is buried..."

"...block off all sources of flooding..."

"...if we run out of medical..."

"Li-san!" This time he was ever closer, and she had to stop in a moment's notice to avoid a collision. He turned around with bright eyes. They were the eyes of a child that was surrounded by more than he realized and could comprehend. Maybe he had seen death up close, but it didn't stop his outright curiosity. Sakura still had hers as a matter of fact, but she was more reserved when it was concerned. She wasn't exactly sure if they were allowed to be out here, getting drenched with muddy feet and legs as Syaoran pointed out what he wanted to do.

The trees here seemed to have been long ago swept over by some strong gale as only half their roots were still intact in the ground on one side, leaving the upper branches of the trees to hang over like dead weight on the complementary side. Syaoran was already struggling through the first foot of the deadly compact thicket. Apparently some of the trees _were_ dense. Well, the majority of them weren't, but Syaoran apparently wanted to take this mostly unused path to get a closer look at what was going on in the town. It was probably to go basically unnoticed by the others that were darting off through a spacious area of the same forest. Going the way they were would lead to the edge of a clearing at the foot of one of the largest cliffs. Just thinking about approaching one of those daunting heights was giving Sakura a sickening feeling, but she followed on, getting a small break from the rain and mud as the water couldn't breach through here just as well as it could in the open. Unfortunately, once again a blessing came with a price. The number of scratches and scrapes her skin received from the contorted branches would have to be left unaccountable for at this point.

Syaoran didn't even seem to pause for a breath once as he rushed through with unrivaled perseverance. Well, at least it was in comparison to herself. She barely had the breath to call out his name and tell him to slow down a bit which he did very reluctantly. She'd have to work on this whole running for her life thing. The people she was meeting apparently did it a lot.

Before they had scrambled into the trees, the sun was making the final descent towards the earth, lengthening their shadows to as long as they could possibly stretch. The rain, the slanting sun, the taunting shadows, the accumulation of another town in distress, it was becoming a bit too much for Sakura. They scrambled for what seemed an eternity, caking their limbs in partial mud when they had to crouch on all fours. Beads of sweat came, and their clothing stuck like a second skin due to mostly the rain. Syaoran wiped off a stray leaf that had stuck to his head, smearing the filth across his forehead. Ahead came the sounds of unmistakable agony. Sakura's hands were trembling now, and as they moved like animals, she had to make sure her arms didn't give way to land her in the mud face first.

"Maybe... maybe we should go back." Curiosity was nothing compared to actually being out there. She had thought this would be an adventure, something she could have fun with. She should have known that stopping to give help would entail something like what had happened back in her town. The dams of her mind burst then, sending the pieces of memories she could remember, and she shuddered. And it wasn't because of the rain or the dropping temperature. Did this sort of thing happen all the time? She had heard it did happen, but did it with such frequency? Was that... possible?

"C'mon it's only a little farther. I think I see some more light up ahead. Besides, I heard them say this happened yesterday so there's not really any danger now." Syaoran was ever enthusiastic, and Sakura couldn't help but imagine him saying something very much similar as he unknowingly went off to his death. He didn't seem to know his own mortality or when to stop and turn back. Sakura certainly thought they had gone far enough at this point.

They scampered for about a fifty more feet before they did come to the open space, Sakura only poking her head out as she worriedly watched Syaoran step fully out. He gestured over, and she walked unsteadily, balancing her arms out as if she was on a tight rope, inching her way across the ground. The ground was cracked and uneven. That was the first thing she noticed. It was strange this condition had not found itself among the trees, but it stopped right at the edge of the clearing. It seemed purposeful, meant to happen in that specific area. She followed the jagged earth and found the entire town had been at its mercy. Some buildings had high and unnatural walls of earth around them, walling in those who lived there. Earth had swelled in what looked like patterns elsewhere to gather the fury of the sky. The water that had been collected met with dozens of ripples a second, and it was uncomfortable for Sakura to look at after a while.

They could see earth elementalists at work, pounding away the earth. Once they even had to cover their eyes in fit of coughing as the debris of one rather large explosion came hurtling at them. The site of the destroyed earth structure hadn't come from too far off, and Sakura was now hopping from foot to foot, paranoid of another one, partially already covering her face. Syaoran almost looked like a child in a candy shop, but Sakura by now what most definitely miserable. She couldn't get past the thought of anyone, especially someone she knew, liking this, but Syaoran did. Syaoran was on his toes, glancing in the distance and pointing in the direction.

"There! That's the north of the town that's buried." Sakura purposefully didn't look. Fortunately her head hadn't moved from the fragmented earth before he had finished his words. She didn't want to see anymore. She really wanted to go back. This had been a mistake.

"Li-san...?" He dropped his hand from its visor like position across his forehead. He turned to look at her quizzically as if he couldn't imagine why she was interrupting this. She grabbed at his loose sleeve at another charring of rock in all directions, and she tugged down gently. "Can we please-" The gentle, fragile voice she had spoken with was lost in an instant. A horrified, truly terrorized scream, overcame her vocal chords. She had never screamed so much in her life. She hadn't even offered one up in the confusion and chaos back in her burning hometown, but now there was nothing that could silence her. Dieing had barely even passed through her mind in that unimaginable fire. It was just the desire to get out. She hadn't questioned it. Now was so different.

Syaoran whipped around faster than she could have, but the oncoming eminent death had rumbled down the cliff much faster than Syaoran had turned. It had started at the top, taking a couple trees in its wake. It gained in its momentum as the compact dirt pounded down the irregular surface of the cliffs, approaching too fast. She couldn't even move; it was that frightening. It was rather large in terms of length anyway, and she completely feared that even with all of her small remaining energy she wouldn't make it out of its deadly range. She didn't have the stamina for this sort of thing. She didn't know how fast Syaoran was, but she at least hoped he wouldn't leave her there, good as dead. Subconsciously she tightened her grip on his shirt.

"Do something!" She changed her mindless yell into one of recognizable words, and Syaoran took the initiative. He knew what she meant. Meilin had said he couldn't use earth, but he'd prove her wrong.

He dug his feet apart into the disturbed earth, preparing his hands out in front of him and gave a yell to match her own. She could see the brown aura dancing along his taunt arms, and it moved forward, but it died away. Her screams became shriller as she stared in unsuppressed horror. Syaoran had lost consciousness. There was no hope now, and she couldn't very well leave him there in her in a vain attempt of escaping. It would only be upon dozens of more seconds before she wouldn't have to worry about this anymore. She wouldn't have to worry about anything ever again.

She threw her arms around her head, and she waited for the fate altering lurch, keeping her eyes closed to the point it was almost painful. She didn't have to wait long for something to happen, but it came in a way she hadn't expected. There was an unfamiliar burst of voice, almost like a small battle cry. Then the fallen earth slammed and ripped apart the ground so much that Sakura fell to the ground beside Syaoran, clutching him half out of fear and half out of offering some slight protection to his unaware body. But beside the cuts from the merciless trees and the bruises she knew would form from the none too pleasant fall to the ground, she was relatively unharmed. She could feel the stray pieces of the hurtling mass knot itself into her uncared for locks. She hadn't found her mind settled on her appearance much these last few days, but that was beside the point. She was alive. Well, she thought she was at least.

Sakura let out a breath she hadn't even known she was holding as her hands, buried slightly among the rocky and broken remains of rocks and earth alike, pushed her upper body from the ground until she was sitting up, surveying the situation. It was still raining, that she realized even before she found herself among a sea of rubble. There was a tree only shy of her figure by several feet. She was almost sure she had heard that impact the ground, but she knew she must be half-kidding herself. It would have been impossible to make out any singular noise in the final chord of the approaching danger. It had made quite a sound.

Her eyes were still blurring over the damage done when a figure poked itself out of the outspread chaos. It was a way off yet, far enough not to get the bulk of the disaster. The person brushed himself, or herself, off before taking lanky steps in Sakura's direction, looking well practiced in maneuvering over the mess. When the person came into better focus, she could tell it was a teenage girl who looked like she had the wind knocked out of her. Under her serious look, cheerfulness seemed to bubble as it threatened to break her neutral lips.

"You," she called, "sure have one hell of a scream." Sakura, well, she just didn't know what to say that. Or how to react.

Ambling over, her dirt laden face was only enhanced when she brushed her dirty beyond comparison gloves against the bridge of her nose. Sakura waited for her to do something, and she was not disappointed. This was a person who couldn't stand idle long, and she knew what had to be done even if she didn't want to do it. She bent over and threw the slumbering boy over her shoulder like he was a sack of potatoes and off she walked. Sakura followed uncertainly.

"So it's raining, the town is really unstable, and the danger's huge. Why are you wandering around here?"

"Um... we were curious." The stranger laughed at that, muttering something that sounded like 'curiosity killed the cat'.

"Okay, well I recognize this troublemaker, so I think I'm guessing right when I say that you're with us." She obviously didn't need a response to that. She was already walking back in the right direction without even appearing to wait for an answer. Sakura could make out the line of wooden carts from the current distance. She knew those all too well even after such a short time with them. People were still coming from that direction too, and they stared in dim interest at the teenager lugging an unconscious child with an obvious bounce in her step and an apparently meek one following in her wake. That only heightened Sakura's discomfort, and she took to staring at the ground to avoid tripping and the stares. She would have kept at it if not for the other's interjection.

"Where do I drop this off?" She said, readjusting her hold, flipping Syaoran upside down and holding him there (to which Sakura expressed her horror), before placing him back over her shoulder. Sakura lost her fear when all was back to normal with the older girl grinning. "So where?" She set about with a confused stare which sunk to frustration. She didn't actually know... the others had always leaded her back to where she needed to be. She hadn't thought about it.

"Near the back somewhere." That much she knew, and the teenager dramatically sighed but kept at it, turning to walk to end of the long line. They approached it at a fairly fast pace as if the girl was impatient of carrying her load now and ready to get back to the dangers the town promised to hold. Sakura knew that first hand, and she was able to relieve the stranger quicker than she would have thought possible as she recognized the horses that were grunting, pawing from foot to foot, ears perked up at the sky. They knew the rain was there, but they couldn't feel it, and Sakura supposed that would drive her slightly restless too. They rounded about to the back of the cart, and the taller girl used her free hand to swipe at the latch, swinging it open with a small creak. Sakura would have had to jump up onto the small connected step to get the same task done.

Sakura, however, did go in before the other girl even poked her head inside. Tomoyo was there, her hands running restlessly along a few cards as her foot tapped impatiently. Meilin was nowhere in sight, and she was about to bring it up when Tomoyo made eye contact with her, slightly shaking her head. Sakura got the message... to some ambiguous degree. Meanwhile, the stranger lightened her load, without stepping inside. She surveyed the cart with a slight frown, looking serious, before meeting Tomoyo's eyes.

"Hello there Daidouji-san. I would have expected better of you. Didn't think you'd let two kids run around getting killed." Tomoyo didn't look all that regretful, but the other girl seemed to think she got the message as she plowed on, "Don't worry about the boy; he just over did himself. These things happen." She made a point with meeting Sakura's eyes before continuing this time, "Don't be stupid." She directed her eye in Syaoran's direction before turning back and latched the door shut with a barely audible noise. Before Sakura even could blink, she was startled.

Meilin sprang up from underneath a pool created by a rather clumped up blanket. Sakura hadn't even imagined that Meilin would be hiding there. She was gasping for breath, patting down the hair that had become disheveled. She shared a glance with Tomoyo while Sakura looked between them. There was something going on there, but Sakura decided it was better to not talk about it. Syaoran was snoring distractedly (he seemed to have that habit), and she was already dying to get clean when she realized that she hadn't even thanked the stranger.

**Just a note, the rules of honorifics seem to be off here. Also they, obviously, don't match what the anime maintained. Next chapter is entitled Arch.**


	3. Arch

_**Elemental Aeon  
**Kesshou Uryou_

**Act I  
Chapter III  
Arch**

The well-woven path of nearly pure dirt wound around a forest of some sorts at first. Then it broke away to lead to a series of gardens. They held the evidence of dying summer flowers, and the promise of the new blooming for the autumn ones. The few evergreen trees in the far distance stood their ground without worry of seasons or weather.

Then the path diverted to an area that lost all colorful and showy splendor. Gone were the gardens. Here were the flat and vivacious meadows, full of life, but just in another sense of the word. This sea of land dominated the landscape all the way up to the first sign of any real human existence in the direction they were headed. A wall stopped the field of grass in its tracks in its smooth structure of cement as it wholly disappeared out of sight in a curved track.

Sakura was precariously perched on the wooden door, leaning her head around the side of the cart to see as much ahead of them as she could. She had already moved on from her endless staring of what the open area of the cart offered. That visage only let her eager eyes to feed on what lay behind them, and she had a curiosity that couldn't be satisfied. She had to see what was coming up ahead of them. She couldn't wait.

Syaoran seemed to share her sentiments. Only instead of jumping to the other side of the cart to mirror Sakura's position, he opted for a more daring position, carefully balancing on his feet as his hands had a tight hold on the somewhat thin wall of the cart. Sakura stayed squatted down, distributing her weight between her two feet, closer to the actual wall than him.

Meilin knew not to move from her spot despite the inkling of interest that shone in her eyes. To play it safe, she had to do what wouldn't get her noticed. One slip-up was all it took to ruin plans. She didn't want that happening. So she had to settle for making the two of them describe what they saw between them. At the mention of the long wall, her eyes narrowed a bit in recognition before she focused back on what she had sent out to do at the moment. The kids, so wrapped up in seeing their destination, something they had only heard fleetingly of before, failed to see what she was up to with a quill in hand. Her mind skirted away from the amusing thought that they were both equally interested in was something they had come to hear about from completely different instances. The cause for their excitement, although similar on some points, sprouted from completely different reasons; she knew this well.

Instead she carefully dipped her quill back in the ink bottle she always carried around with her. She frowned a bit at the lack still in the jar, knowing she'd somehow have to get some more. Still, more importantly though, she smoothed the detailed piece of paper in her lap and made another brisk mark across its surface. She watched the ink bleed through the paper at the first instant of contact before the process stopped. She studied the paper again before loosing all sense of concentration. She was far too anxious. So many things could go astray...

"Stop squirming so much, Kinomoto!" Meilin winced. She proceeded to bang her head silently against the wall she was leaning on as she provided them a glance.

"Just go to the other side, Li!" Meilin found it funny how the girl attached an honorific to her name and not his. Perhaps the habit had emerged from the recent squabbles they shared. Meilin tried to stay out of them when they were too stubborn to simmer down and listen to her. It was better, however, to at least try to break it up before one of them mysteriously managed to fall out of the cart itself.

"Shut up. You see anything else yet?" Fortunately this time the two put aside their differences, most likely at the still fresh thrill of their surroundings.

"Well, the wall's sorta pretty big so nothing exactly," Sakura mumbled, squinting her eyes.

"Since _I'm_ standing, I'm starting to see more grass on the other side. Looks just like this grass here." Meilin nodded, her hand swirling the quill in her grasp in anticipation. The paper had told all correctly so far, but she still needed that one last important landmark to prove its credibility. If that detailed image on the paper was correct there'd be no doubt in her mind. Meilin found it almost impossible to imagine from the drawing here and the stories she had been told, but this sketch, if accurate, would make it a sight of definite interest.

"Now we're at the wall and it turns so it's on both sides of the road," informed Syaoran again. Meilin nodded to herself. This map of hers was still correct. She gave another quick brand of ink across the paper. It should only be a short matter of time before the infamous structure came into view…

"Look! Do you see that arch?"

"Where?" Syaoran's head flailed as it searched across the ground at Sakura's outcry. Sakura's voice sounded excited and hoarse from all her talking that day. Meilin raised her head herself despite her inability to see what they could.

"Up Li! Up!" His eyes took to skimming across the skyline, and there it stood out much clearer.

"Wow!" Meilin smirked. This map should be correct enough. She still had yet to seen it, but by the way they were fumbling with processing their thoughts into words, she was willing to put aside the remaining stubborn doubt.

On the map itself, it demonstrated every detail that Meilin had come to learn of the arch by word of mouth. "Meilin, this is amazing. It's huge!" Meilin bit her lip in trying to contain her amusement. They were become of themselves, stumbling over their words. Truth be told, she was ever the more curious, and the map certainly helped the prospect of taking a quick peek. After all they didn't even know all about it like she did. The two of them probably couldn't even comprehend that the arch wasn't merely a decoration. It served its own purpose.

Meilin gave one last look over the map, trying to make sure her study sessions had paid off. Hopefully she would remember it under any sort of pressure or distraction. She put it away, well aware that as soon as they passed under that arch, everything she had worked up to would be tested. She still had a long way to go until she tried what others deemed impossible.

"We're going under it now!" Their faces turned skyward, placing their necks in a highly uncomfortable position as they studied the arch from underneath it. Meilin trained her eyes on the two of them to see the sudden and faint swirl of color emitted from their bodies. Meilin gave a shudder as the two of them did subconsciously. Only hers came out of the thought of it rather than the experience. Everything about it was unnatural to her. Meilin did her best to forget about it as she glimpsed the arch itself as the cart moved forward, and at the sight of it she frowned. It _was_ a sight, but it represented what she didn't support.

Then it disappeared out of her line of sight as soon as it had come, being replaced by blue sky. Meilin knew what came now. Many of them lived here. Those same people received their training here. This is where they mingled. This was their territory.

"We're here! We're finally here," Sakura shouted in glee, taking wild glances at the sight around them. The complex looked like its own town, down to the street vendors along the lengths of the dirt paved road. No doubt they had turned up for the return, hoping to make some extra money.

Syaoran joined her in the eye candy, and Meilin tensed, quickly grabbing her belongings that she had already packed. As soon as she had heard they were arriving shortly, she had made quick work of the task and had suggested the same course of action to the two of them who had eventually complied.

Their trip had been so delayed and drawn out that even to Meilin this arrival seemed dreamlike. Only she had no time to doubt the circumstances. A pinch when no one was looking confirmed the situation. They were really there.

And frankly, she was nervous. But this was no time to doubt. That time had passed. Here came the hard part.

Meilin could count off the seconds in her head until the cart came to an inevitable stop. That's how short the span of time had been. She sighed, squaring her shoulders a bit, settling her face into a half grimace.

She distracted herself by watching Syaoran and Sakura amble over enthusiastically, in their own way granted, to their packaged few belongings they had collected across their trip. Meilin sighed as she banged her head lightly against the wooden wall a second time. Syaoran's hair had become even more unruly over their journey, and it was desperately in need of a cut. Sakura's hair had shown its own slower growth, but what was more prominent was her coming into her own character. She talked more freely now, cheerfully offering her own opinions when she thought the need arose, thus changing her light hearted comments to full blown arguments with a certain other person. Sometimes she wanted to shut the girl up.

Meilin, as far as she was concerned, was the exact opposite. This ruby eyed girl hadn't changed. Yes, her hair was more knotted. Yes, she was more weathered to traveling, but she was essentially the same. She still had the take charge attitude. And despite all the trouble she went through for the facts that had been collected and carefully memorized, not even bringing up that she was ever closer to those instances paying off, her belief had remained the same unwavering stronghold from town to town. She had seen a sea of faces, some dead and some heavily wounded. Yet here she was the same person with the same goal with the same future.

Meilin had come to the conclusion that she'd be the rock in the river. Everything could rush past her, and she'd never budge, never change. But if it wasn't for her firmness and resoluteness then everything she'd hoped for would have been lost the next day.

For her, that was no way to live or dream. She had had to accept that that was the way she worked, and it was the only way she would ever do so. Meilin would be the rock. They could be the river.

Coming back to reality, Sakura's slightly longer hair disappearing, registered in Meilin's mind. The same mind that was just becoming perceptive to its surroundings again. Then she realized that the seemingly reborn girl had bounded out of the cart and turned off to the left. The flittering hair had been the last sign of the girl as far as sight was concerned.

"Elementalists sign up over here!"

No doubt that calling had been the reason for the girl abruptly leaving. Syaoran was quick to follow suit only he took a pause, a look of thought across his face. He swung back around. Sakura had been smart enough to bring her few belongings, and Syaoran had too with a canvas bag propped against his left shoulder. Meilin could see no reason for his hesitation.

"What are you doing, again?" Meilin wasn't sure if that question was one of curiosity, concern, or of an attempt at complete avoidance of screwing up her plans.

"Don't bother about me, go do your self-flattering elementalist job," she sighed out, waving a hand disinterestedly at him. A slight frown wove her lips as he listened although not before sneaking one last look back towards her.

Meilin slumped her shoulders when he was gone for certain, curving her back to be rid of all good posture as she leaned against the all too familiar wooden wall. Somehow she'd make herself miss this small pre-adventure. She could make herself forget it if she had to in the end. She had to stay focused.

It was hard, however, when faced with the idea of waiting for an indefinite interval of time. Staring idly around the uncomfortable and abandoned setting, she felt like a disgruntled and ignored child; she could determine the feeling well enough. The voices outside raised in volume as friends met and greeted and newcomers entered a new fate. Meilin bristled at the emptiness in her current surroundings and knew she was sure to start unconsciously ticking off the seconds very shortly.

"Daidouji-san… Daidouji-san…" she muttered, tracing an abstract pattern with her foot. Meilin would soon lose all of her short impatience if Tomoyo didn't hurry. They had a deal, and she wasn't about to let her break it without any warning. Things could _not_ fall apart like that. Not so easily, and definitely not so soon.

Still, with each fleeting moment, worry began to take a heavier toll. If Tomoyo backed down, Meilin would have no place to sleep that night, and then that would be just the beginning of the resulting problems.

"Daidouji-san… Daidouji-san, hurry up." The words slid off her tongue now without any restraint. She was considering taking up taping her fingers against the redundant wood.

"Daidouji-san?"

Meilin's head shut up as fast as a bolting rabbit could spring, and her hair followed, having a slightly delayed reaction. Meilin's normally particularly tied up hair was down completely today in an attempt to appear at least marginally different than she normally did for the venture into that crowd. The decision annoyed her now as the black locks partially covered her face, thus limiting her vision. Still, she didn't need eyes to know that wasn't Daidouji-san. In fact, if she thought about it…

No. That couldn't be right either. Yet, something still nagged the thought at her, and she dreaded the next action she took. She delicately parted her hair enough to see through a decent perimeter.

Now she knew who it was. She could see. She could see who held up the parchment. From the fine quill to the small dripping of ink from its tip, she saw. It must have been dipped very recently… Just how exactly…?

"Have you found your trip enjoyable?" Her visitor smoothed the paper onto the floor of the cart as he stood outside. A small smile, one that Meilin couldn't place, taunted her.

"How…" He looked up as she stared on.

"I'm sorry. You've been around so long, and I haven't caught your name yet." She hated his extent of calm. She hated everything about him. In that moment, those thoughts came back and surged to her tongue.

"You don't deserve it. Besides, if you were any good like they say, you would be able to have figured it out by now." Of course she didn't bother to mention that she was surprised that he even knew that she had been traveling with them in the first place.

"Someone who doesn't think highly of me _and_ has rude manners. Let's skip the introductions then. We don't need to start on such bad terms. I can avoid as much conversation as I can right now if you'd be so kind as to sign this." Meilin stared down, and slowly, she inched her way closer although delaying in actually shortening the gap between them.

She came as close as she had to before reaching out her fingers and pressing her fingertips into the floor to slide the paper in her general direction. She didn't bother with the quill.

Her eyes scanned the paper warily, uncomfortable with his stare. Her frown was eminent as she read, and it only became worse as she looked up. She had to build her confidence up first. Her attempt echoed and hung there. Not quite as effective as she could have hoped.

"I cannot agree to this, Clow…-kun."

--e--a—

Syaoran had reclined against a tree that rested on top of a very grassy and small hill. With half-opened eyes inspired from his lack of sleep of late (his burst of energy received from arriving had since worn down), he listened. He was doing everything in his power to delay the inevitable fate he would have to succumb to later that day. Sakura sat Indian style next to him as she leaned forward, eyes never slowing down in her examination of the people still in full motion.

She had expected that it would wind down, but the carts were already being reloaded after just being unpacked and other horses replaced the ones being cooled off and lead away. Never a moment of relaxation, she supposed. Syaoran, on the other hand, expected Sakura would have wound down herself. She had yet to stop talking absentmindedly, touching upon different topics, talking more so to herself that to him.

Sometimes he wished she hadn't been able to bloom so easily. Yes, he could still tell she hesitated at times, and she always took a tentative breather to study who she was talking too, but she ranted until she had no breath when she was comfortable enough. If things continued this way, she could become a center of attention. If she'd learn to be a little more assertive, that is.

Her irresoluteness was her weakness, but at the same time he had to admit that he was thankful for it. Only so that it provided a respite from her onslaught of talking. He would have thought she'd find the two she had been hanging out with, Tomoyo or Rika. But no, she had lost them somewhere along the line. After that she had hung to his side, for reasons he wouldn't know.

"I like that mare over there… I forgot the name of that type. I never really learned them so…" She tilted her head to the practically motionless Syaoran before continuing. With him, if he wasn't sporting a glare she took it as a sign to continue. "It looks like they're not too far from finishing. Still, they put away some carts. It'll be smaller than ours, I guess."

"I guess." Sakura sighed after his mumbled replied. She was used to a more mutual conversationalist along with a Syaoran willing to put up a harmless fight. But she had lost those other two, Syaoran was tired, and Meilin had downright disappeared from her surroundings, not that Sakura expected her to be more talkative. She'd have to make more friends. She couldn't depend on two people for everything. She twisted her hands nervously.

"What's wrong with you?" At her longer than normal pause, Syaoran actually became mildly concerned. She was just staring off now. His one opened eye shifted towards her. He almost recoiled in surprise when she whirled towards him.

"Fire… You want to be the best at everything. You want to be the best at… fire?" That answer took no thought on his part.

"Of course." Sakura stared down at her hands in the grass and nodded and gave a bitter sweet smile all at the same time.

"I wonder if I'll get left behind really easy, then. Everyone really wants to do so great or already do know something. I keep thinking I'm going to be the worst." Syaoran closed his eyes and sighed.

"You will." Sakura's eyes shot up to meet his closed ones. "If you think like that." Sakura visibly relaxed and smiled although he couldn't see.

"Right… that's right. You fire, me water. I know you'll work hard, but…" She didn't finish her sentence. Instead she leaned closer and poked his forehead with her pinkie. He opened his eyes, completely annoyed and then stared at her extended pinkie. When he continued to do so, Sakura frowned slightly.

"Don't tell me you've never done one." Syaoran shook his head slowly.

"No, I have once." Sakura tilted her head in curiosity, but she bit her tongue and reached the pinkie out again. Satisfyingly enough, he met hers with his own. She couldn't hold back the smile.

"We may not always get along that great, but now at least we both have to try our best. No slacking off." Sakura adopted a playful scolding tone. Sakura dwelled in the resulting half smile simply because it wasn't hers.

--e--a—

Tomoyo had prepared herself for a ticked off Meilin. She had purposefully taken her time only so that she could. The older girl was far too easy to annoy if you knew the right way to do it. Tomoyo did. Besides, in Tomoyo's mind, she found Meilin needed someone to draw her back to reality. She wasn't superior or all important over everyone else. Meilin was one of those people you really couldn't be all that subtle with at times. She was the type you had to slap in the face to get the point across.

So Tomoyo, usually overly prepared for her predicted circumstances to take place did a double take at an almost sulking Meilin. That persona, however, was quickly dropped in exchange for what Tomoyo had expected. That was good. Tomoyo could deal with that.

"Why the hell are you so late?" Tomoyo held up her hands to emphasize her defense.

"The crowd was large. I was also signing up for the extra course like we talked about. Some things just take time to be done."

"Your excuses don't go past me so easily, Daidouji-san. Your delaying made me put up with total crap!" Tomoyo raised an eyebrow at the further enraged Meilin. When she got mad, her tongue slipped despite her twelve years of age.

"Try being more specific." Meilin only glared harder.

"We have to change our plans. I tried my best, but in the end I couldn't stop it. Damn…" Meilin slumped in apparent defeat.

"Change our… what happened to our old plan? That one worked fine." Tomoyo's mind wouldn't slow down from all the possibilities.

"Back then I didn't have to work under Clow-kun."

--e--a—

With some possible divine interception, Sakura signed up to train under water and received the assigned room number of her future abode. Sakura had steeled herself to share the dorm room with just about anybody, but she ended up with a pleasant surprise. The individual had turned out to be the one she had least expected of all. When Sakura entered the room, Sasaki Rika was seen to be unpacking her few belongings. Not that she minded, of course.

"Hello Sasaki-chan!" Rika turned around, pausing in her current motion. She threw a smile over her shoulder.

"Hey. What good luck, right?" She went back into the process of unpacking after Sakura simply nodded. "And call me Rika already! We're roommates now."

"Hai." Sakura beamed as she knelt next to the uncluttered bed in the room. Rika had obviously claimed the other one. Sakura was happy that she was sharing a room with someone that she was now on a mutual first name basis. The very same person had been using her first name for a little over a week, but now Sakura would return the favor. She never dared overstep her boundaries. She didn't want to push her luck.

"Are you prepared?"

"Eh?" The short silence was not one that Sakura had expected to end so soon. Rika rounded about staring past Sakura's face.

"It'll be a lot of work, you know. I hope the two of us both do great." Sakura understood that feeling. At least Rika knew a little. Sakura would have to catch up to those people that already had an advantage.

"I have to try my hardest, Rika. I promised." Rika diverted her eyes to stare at the determined girl who was one year her junior.

"Good to hear. Because now we're enemies, and I don't want to lose to someone who doesn't try their best." Sakura blinked off Rika's wink.

"Enemies...?"

"You weren't there. We lost you in the crowd. Tomoyo and I were listening to a group of older elementalists. I don't really understand it all, but that's ok. We have the orientation to go to soon." Rika waved the matter off with a careless hand gesture.

"Orientation? Oh... I forgot. Tomoyo told me about that a couple of days ago. When is it?" Rika laughed as she sat down on the edge of her bed. Her belongings had already been distributed throughout the room.

"Today. Before the sun sets." Sakura glanced out the window, registering that it was already late in the afternoon. "We should go soon," Rika added as an afterthought. Sakura drifted her eyes away from the window.

"But first finish unpacking of course!" Sakura vaguely looked down sheepishly at her abandoned makeshift suitcase.

"Hai."

--e--a--

Syaoran's eyes were on the verge of drooping one last final time. Still, he pushed his feet forward with his mouth set in a fine line. He had more dignity than to just collapse from exhaustion in a random hallway.

"Just a little farther now." He glimpsed ahead again to view the woman shuffling along in the hall that boasted a smell of some kind of bad aftertaste. The woman's candle bobbed up and down as she moved herself forward. There was the occasional lit lantern and the rarer window along their path, but it still couldn't alter the fact that it was night. Night brought darkness. It was a fact.

He himself hadn't expected to be coming back as late as it was. Other occupants of the dorm building were fast asleep, and he and his guide had to be as silent as possible, which was noted by her sharp whispers.

Syaoran was more than irked at the situation. He felt like a lost dog being lead back home. But more importantly, that talk he was coming out of was not one he had wanted to partake in from the beginning. If it hadn't been expected of him for more than obvious reasons, he would have downright opted to not show up at all today.

Being held back and doing what he didn't want to do when he was this tired, didn't settle well with him. He didn't even get a chance to decide whether he wanted to go that orientation or not. Not that it mattered of course. After all, he didn't need to be informed of what was to be expected of him and all the regulations. He just about had enough of that, and all too recently too.

Syaoran's nose bristled. Again.

"What is that smell?" The woman ahead paused entirely for a second, probably caught off guard from his suddenly harsh questioning. After a quick warning for silence, she answered.

"Very sorry about that. Someone couldn't quite… control the fire in their practice. You're smelling the charred walls and the damp remains of the buckets of water." Syaoran then understood, but he didn't appreciate the answer that was provided.

"Idiots like that should get out." There was no answer. Only another pause from the woman, but perhaps for an entirely different reason this time. She raised her right arm and swung a door inside a darkened room.

"Here you are, Li-sama." He stepped inside, followed by her. She quickly carried out the task of lighting the candles rooted on the wall on either side of the door. She turned around, standing in the door frame with an awkward smile.

"One large room and no roommates. Close to edge of training grounds and classes. Just the way it was arranged."

He took his second look around and nodded with a semblance of approval.

"Thank you."

She took her leave without further prompting. Syaoran decided he could unpack later, and he hastily decided it was past due for some rest. He fell asleep thinking of what the future would bring and an irritating two word annoyance.

**The two word annoyance… if I could actually post the next chapter today you would see. It's the first two words in the next chapter. Anyway, if you haven't noticed by now, I'm not really explaining much am I? Just the bare basics so you can keep reading. Yes, guilty as charged. I love doing that to the reader. However, the next chapter I plan to explain a lot in case you're even a little curious.**

**Speaking of that, the next chapter will be clearing up several questions. If you have any, that is. It will take place a little in the future, and also composed of several scenes with time jumps in between them. I don't think it's too complicated, but this was just a head's up. See you next update.**


	4. Progress

_**Elemental Aeon  
**Kesshou Uryou_

**Act I  
Chapter IV  
****Progress**

"Basic Studies!" Sakura had turned her pacing into something similar to a war rampage, trudging past all obstacles threatening to prevent her movement. "That's what it is! Who ever came up with such a stupid, stupid, _stupid_ thing?"

Tomoyo tried to look sympathetic, but all motivation had been lost. She was regretting her asking what the matter was with the younger girl in the first place, really. She instead took pity on her joint room; it being shared with a certain sleeping individual as Tomoyo sat out of harms way on her bed.

"I mean what is the point? We're not here to learn math of all things!" Tomoyo had a part of her that agreed, but her good sense inhibited it from being voiced out loud. Instead she spoke the reasonable and logical answer that was the real cause. Sakura, however, would be disappointed by it.

"Think for a second, Sakura-chan. What's the goal of us being here again?"

"To train our elements, of course! I'm not that stupid even though Basic Studies is harder than I thought it would be…" Tomoyo saw Sakura's tirade began to get a damper placed upon it as she trailed off dejectedly. The poor girl was trying her hardest, but Tomoyo suspected Sakura was used to a self-customizable and self-paced learning style induced by her home schooling. (Tomoyo was akin to the same thing although she had ventured out into private school at one point.) But even more than just that, balancing elemental training and the vigor Sakura placed upon it with the rather stale in comparison Basic Studies was something that proved difficult for her too. Although to be fair, Tomoyo had even one more class than Sakura to worry about.

"Yes and why are we doing that exactly?" Tomoyo decided Sakura needed more prompting to come to a correct and mutual conclusion.

"So maybe we can become an Elemental-sama and beat the elements themselves. Then the world will go back to the way it was before the Elemental Aeon began." Sakura was repeating what had been engraved upon her mind and Tomoyo knew it too. This time of turmoil had been deemed by some as the Elemental Aeon. Elemental simply referred to the elements. Aeon dictated the current indefinite time period. Together the phrase represented a seemingly everlasting time of pure chaos.

"And if we can really do all that, what will you do after this is all over? And to do that, what are you going to need?" Tomoyo reclined into a laying position. That should be all the clues Sakura needed, after all. She could figure the rest out on her own.

"I don't know what I'd do, but I guess an educat- oh." The girl seemed to be hit hard at having lost so easily. She turned introverted for a moment, reflecting on this information, changing her once angered face into a sullen one.

"Makes sense now, doesn't it? Besides, even if we don't accomplish it, most people don't stay in this program for their whole life so we would need some schooling to get other jobs." Tomoyo prattle seemed to completely stop Sakura's angered movements as she sunk down next to her friend. Actually, by now, they had become something equivalent to best friends even though it was a rather strange relationship at times. They had fun they connected better with each other than the others.

"Still, why does it have to be _math_?" Apparently not all the fight had left the brooding girl.

"Don't ask me. Just put up with it," Tomoyo breathed out as she swung her legs over the side of the bed to stand up.

"But I told you, I'm failing. This has never happened to me before! And if I fail any of my lessons, I can't continue on with my training until I've passed. I don't want to fall behind!" Tomoyo figured that by now this was essentially Sakura whining.

"Find yourself a tutor then. Li-san is good at math, isn't he?" Sakura was so taken back by the idea that she missed Tomoyo's mischievous smirk.

"No way! He'll never let me live it down!" The stubborn protest vibrated off the walls, and Tomoyo subconsciously turned to see if the other occupant of the room had been awakened. Fortunately for the conscious dwellers of the room, it turned out to be not so. Tomoyo mused that she really must have stayed out most of the night like she had said. Sakura, after she had calmed down, seemed to follow Tomoyo's gaze.

"Hey… Rae-san can help me!" Tomoyo blinked then almost laughed. Her endeavor for hiding her mirth completely failed, however, as Sakura had caught on to it.

"What's so funny? She helps you after all." Tomoyo knew that to be true, but Sakura wasn't exactly helping Meilin out in turn. Besides, their relationship was as blurred as it could get. She was even slightly surprised that Meilin had yet to stop fulfilling her end of the deal. Doing two people's schoolwork would wear down Tomoyo, even just a little. Then there was Meilin helping her get caught up since Tomoyo hadn't even done the work…

"That's a bit different," Tomoyo deadpanned, and Sakura slid down the side of the bed as she neatly collapsed on the wooden floor in apparent defeat.

"Cheer up, it won't be that bad, Sakura-chan." Sakura took this blow with poorly masked disbelief.

"You don't have to put up with him like I do. I'll just end up having to work extra harder on training to beat him there…" Tomoyo watched her pick herself up from the floor.

"That's the spirit." Sakura had already made her way to the door before she turned around again. Her eyes were entirely on a sleeping Meilin.

"It wouldn't hurt to just ask her now about it, would it?" Tomoyo knew the answer to that and shot down Sakura's hopes not for the first time that day.

"You really want to be the one to wake her up after she got no sleep last night?" Sakura pivoted on her heel and was already partially out the door before she answered. Auburn locks and all.

"Right. I'll go ask him."

--e--a--

"Tomoyo!" Sakura came bounding in, clearly a mess but eager to talk regardless. She, however, had forgotten a simple procedure, namely knocking, in the process. This did nothing to appease the one figure actually awake in the room.

"Are you so stupid that you can't knock?" Sakura had learned a long time ago to just let the comments slide if she wasn't in the mood for a full out argument. You never knew when those would end. And frankly, she was exhausted. So instead she mumbled an apology before throwing in her own comment.

"Jeez… whenever I come here one of you _has_ to be asleep." The words had come from a quick observation. Tomoyo was asleep at her desk, her arms serving as a pillow. Needless to say, she had been undertaking a cramming session on either her extra class, Medical Studies, or catching up in Basic Studies. Although Meilin usually would help with the latter. Perhaps she had before the younger girl had fall into sleep. Meilin now was on her bed, writing in her journal per usual. This routine had been hindered by Sakura's sudden appearance.

"Well, it is late. You should be heading off to bed yourself." Meilin was ever the night owl. Sakura had picked up from Tomoyo that she went who knows where during the night and in the night only. Sakura wouldn't be surprised if Meilin was about to be on her way when she had entered.

"No, I'm fine for now." Suddenly her reply took on a desperate edge, "Hey, you sure you don't want to tutor me? Tomoyo's asleep and you must be bored just writing all the time."

"You still haven't asked him, have you?" Well, Sakura immediately translated that to a firm no. She unenthusiastically sighed and found her feet very interesting.

"I'm working on it."

"Work on it faster, would you? Or stop asking me. Pick one." Meilin turned back to her perpetual writing as she dipped her quill in the ever present inkbottle. Sakura knew she should have taken it as her sign to leave, but she felt disappointed that Tomoyo was asleep when she had come to her. She was in the mood for a chat, and challenges had begun to slowly grow on her.

Meilin was as much of a challenge as she could get.

So it was with this in mind when she silently slid across the wooden floorboards in search of her prize. Talking about it had accomplished nothing. So why not just try and go for the kill? Unfortunately, Meilin wasn't that easy of a target. After all, she was a challenge.

As soon as she was within distance to read something, Sakura had begun to adjust her position to get to an angle so she actually could do so. Meilin took this as her opportunity to jump up suddenly, walking away as she blew furiously at the pages. Sakura suspected she would have outright slammed the small book shut if not for the worry of the words smudging all across its contents.

"Why again aren't you bothering Sasaki?" Sakura blinked at the mention of her roommate, Rika, before she realized Meilin was trying to distract her from her self-proclaimed task.

"Because she took all her free time today to go visit her childhood friend. She just got here, and Rika said she'd be gone all day. She probably won't be back until even _you're_ asleep." They both knew that that was a long, long time. There was a silence until Meilin shattered it.

"You really should be going to bed now." Sakura wouldn't let her mood to be disheartened that easily.

"Oh c'mon. I'm not even doing anything wrong." A point blank glare stopped Sakura from elaborating. There was more silence until a question hung in the air.

"Don't you have a hobby?" And, of course, Sakura's unsure answer would be…

"Training?" After the utterance, she tapped a finger against her chin in thought. Did that even count? Did she really have no hobby?

"Then go do it." Sakura almost took her advice until she realized, per her normal fashion, that she had just gotten back from training. Hence the dirtied clothes and her pure, disclosed exhaustion. Also that it was much too late to train. Besides, hadn't she been focused on something else entirely a moment ago?

So, with half a thought, she took the moment of spontaneity to lunge. She thought it would work well enough, but she hadn't counted on Meilin's left foot to entangle with hers as one arm made clumsy contact with her back. The other extended to take the elusive little book from its owner's grasp. That is, as they were falling to the ground.

And with an echoing thud, they impacted the floor with Meilin taking the brunt of the descent. Sakura had none too gracefully missed her target as well, rolling over to lie with her back on the floor as she was. Now as Tomoyo stirred a bit to change her head's position, Sakura raced out of the room.

She feared that she'd been getting a little too much conversation is she remained.

--e--a--

"Daidouji-san said you wanted to talk to me?" Syaoran spoke these words upon entering after taking note that the said girl was not present in the room. "Where is she anyway?"

"Medical Studies," Meilin muttered before she plunged back to writing hastily, flicking her tongue out of the corner of her mouth every time she made a mistake and had to slow down to cross out the offending scribble. Syaoran watched the show.

"Damnit," she remarked as her eyes shot rapidly back and forth as she reveled in her careless error. She began the process of crumbling up the paper before she picked up another thick parchment. "Damn Daidouji too. I didn't ask you to come here."

Syaoran easily took note of Meilin's anger. He knew when to not push too far, but still there was some breathing room.

"And what exactly are you doing?" Meilin sighed in ill concealed annoyance as she heavily set down her all too present quill. The slap her palm had made on the desk left her hand stinging. Not that she showed it.

"I'm doing our Basic Studies work. Again." Syaoran knew that tone well. She wasn't happy.

"I'm surprised that you're still doing it." Meilin sunk down in her chair, fingering a loose stray of hair. Twirling it around and around her finger seemed to slow down the onslaught of her thoughts. She redirected a faint glare at the wavering candlelight. It was getting late, and Tomoyo should be back soon.

"She's keeping her part of the deal. She ordered what I needed under her own name, and that was risky for her. Besides, I always honor a true promise." Meilin reached for the familiar quill again as she dove back into writing. She still had Clow's work to get done. At this rate, she wouldn't be able to go out at all this night. Then she couldn't gather any new information.

"You can't be happy that she sent me to visit you though." Syaoran plopped down decisively on what he knew to be Meilin's bed as he waited for her reaction. She rewarded him by rubbing her throbbing temples. She had a headache then.

"Well, whatever, I haven't seen you in awhile so I guess it was ok." Syaoran had to offer this when he realized that Meilin was in no mood to respond. She was lashing out again with her most trusted weapon: her quill. He wondered if she'd die if it just disappeared one day. Maybe he'd look into that eventually. Old habits did die hard.

"Hmm." When he thought that would be the extent of the rest of the conversation, he made to leave, but she found her voice to continue. "So how many times have you burned yourself now?" He subconsciously hid his arms behind his back. So she had noticed.

He had had burns when he had come to see her on those rare occasions since he started training, but now they ran the length of his arms. The bandages had been necessary even though he hid them with loose and long sleeves. He supposed the ends of the offending white objects did peek out at the wrist. Even if it was just a little.

"I'm getting the hang of it." He was embarrassed by the burns, and he knew Meilin was relishing in his injury. Salt to the wounds. She was well versed in that practice.

"Right." Only a complete fool could miss the heavily laced sarcasm. There was silence after that besides for the perpetual scratching of quill to parchment.

"Have you found out anything important lately?" Meilin produced an abrupt and sharp noise as she scooted closer to her desk. Syaoran had realized right away that Tomoyo's was much more organized albeit she did use it as a make-shift bed. Now, however, his attention was back on Meilin who was writing in an ever more frenzied state. Syaoran decided it was time to go now. After all, it was only when Tomoyo had let a few certain things slip, had he had found out that Meilin was collecting information. Highly controversial information at that.

Now with a hand on the doorknob, debating on whether to say any words of parting or not, Meilin instead spoke.

"Has Kinomoto asked you any… favors recently?" He paused, his mind searching after the unusual answer to an unusual question.

"No. We basically only talk about whose better… or we just fight." He heard Meilin sigh. Then more of that almost complete silence.

"Well," Meilin finally snapped, "Get the hell out already."

--e--a--

For the moment, quiet reigned and Meilin enjoyed it. Then it came crashing down as quickly as it had come. Things like this always fluctuated.

"So, it's been eighty-six years since things slipped out of control?" Meilin nursed her head in the crook of her arm. Both girls had taken up their respective desks to get their work done. Tomoyo was currently attempting to catch up in Basic Studies which required questions thrown at the older girl. The program had known that to avoid ignorance, they needed to tact on actual elemental information so it had found it's place under history, necessary to learn under the broader range of Basic Studies.

"Yes, eighty-six years and the hearts of the elements-" Meilin, at this point, had reached the stage where she'd offer the answers instead of waiting for Tomoyo to tentatively offer her assumed answers. It was Tomoyo's third time through, and Meilin was only so patient.

"-lie in the neutral territory north of here. It has no name, and no one lives there, but sometimes it's called the Final Hell." Meilin nodded silently to herself. Meilin had to catch up in the history aspect of her learning for this additional information so it was still rather fresh in her mind. Actually, it had turned out she was only one year ahead of Tomoyo despite the two year age difference. Meilin had lost a year of schooling and was paying the price now.

"And then the elements split into their own domain. Currently, after the last set of Elemental-sama, the area has been sealed off, but the elements still leak out of small breaks to cause the problems we see today. But it's dangerous to go there because that's where the elements are the most uncontrollable." Meilin knew this was coming straight from the textbook. Tomoyo did have an exceptional memory, and she smart for her age. Why was she needed again? (1)

"All of that's right, Daidouji-san." The person spoken to seemed to take no notice of the comment. She plowed through and through what she was studying.

"The elements seem to have a mind of their own, and all of the elements in the world trace back to this place. But-"

"Daidouji-san. Seriously, shut up." That one quieted the girl down who could only smile at Meilin's misfortune. Sometimes the short tempered female just wanted to hit the pale girl. The prolonged time in the sun seemed unimpressionable against her skin tone.

"Tomoyo." Meilin had to hold back her tongue to question what she meant by that. They had had this conversation before.

"When I think of you as someone I know, I will. Until then, be glad I don't call you something else." Tomoyo pouted and opened her mouth, daring to slip in something that Meilin would take as an insult.

"We both know that will be never happen, Meilin-chan." Tomoyo ducked just in the nick of time. She stared as one of Clow's scrolls rolled across the floor. It finally came to stop, but not before reversing direction after hitting the wall. The silence only made the glare more apparent.

"Just joking, Rae-chan," Tomoyo effortlessly corrected herself, slowly drifting her eyes back to what she's been trying to do: studying. Granted, she was a good student, but there was just so much to catch up on, and Meilin wasn't always the most cooperative person in the world. The cheery on top was that her eyelids were starting to feel like lead. Sleep look like a nice option now.

But then Tomoyo decided to attempt another tidbit of conversation. She started off with what she knew Meilin could rant about. It would be simple enough. "What are you working on there? It's from Clow-sama, right?"

There was the tense silence that Tomoyo had become accustomed to until the point she could brush it aside. "Don't bring him up." Tomoyo complied, but then a moment later: "God, I hate Clow." It was a venomous statement.

At first she blinked. That was the first time she had heard Meilin fail to drop her favorite honorific for Clow. But then she let if past and lifted the corner of her mouth up in her realization. She had won. She was still willing to talk to her.

"Hmm. But how is that coming?" For once, Meilin elaborated beyond the realm of convenience and into what was strictly unnecessary.

"Just some figures for the newest students. He likes to have copies of these things. Then I have to copy this report on the Arch." Meilin didn't even pause for breath as she continued her work.

"Ah," was the response. "The Arch, huh? The restoration, I guess. I heard that thing was a bit off recently. Some kid blew over a thicket of trees by accident. Stuff like that. That thing really should be kept working."

"He's an idiot, what do you expect? You'd think he'd make sure it was working so the elements wouldn't go haywire here too, but he's letting the risk happen. If he's going to have it, he should make sure it works."

Tomoyo knew what point she was driving home. The Arch was a precaution. It kept all concentrated forms of the elements out. Regular instances, such as rain, did get through, but at least those were normal occurrences. Clow's program grounds didn't need to get destroyed by what its inhabitants were trying to destroy. That was just pure, unforgivable stupidity.

So then elementalists couldn't normally use their gift within the premises as they molded the elements in condensed attributes. They could leave the grounds or don a wrist guard on each arm to conduct their element. Novices, as Tomoyo was, however, didn't get to keep the accessory. Trainees and up were granted the benefit.

But then came into play why didn't everyone keep out the elements. Tomoyo didn't know why herself, but she knew it was highly complicated. Clow and his predecessor had apparently molded the arch for its exact purpose along with the walls that surrounded the area that stretched in all directions. No doubt the complications had caused the thing to malfunction.

Suddenly there was a quiet banging, and Tomoyo adjusting her position on the hard wooden chair, glimpsed Meilin abusing herself.

"He gives me all this crappy work to do and I'm sure it doesn't even need to be done. Stupid Clow-kun." There was Meilin's affection shining through again. Tomoyo smiled.

It was another twenty minutes before another word was spoken. Tomoyo knew. She had been staring relentlessly at the clock.

"Kinomoto ask him yet?"

Perhaps it was desire for sleep finally depriving her of her bearings. Although, if she was being realistic, that probably had no effect on the outcome. Tomoyo practically choked trying to make her no heard over her own laughter.

Meilin had no response to that.

--e--a--

"Wow. This is a surprise." Tomoyo looked up from the sheet dictating all the major bones of the human body.

"What, me studying? I've been doing it when you've visited before… Li-san." Tomoyo didn't even give a semblance of trying to hide her smile.

"I'm talking about one of you not being asleep." Tomoyo plopped her chin into her cupped hand as she studied the boy who was leaning against the door frame. Recently, he had picked up an impolite habit from most likely Sakura, and Meilin, had she been there, would have yelled at him for not knocking. His comments were even reflecting her best friend. Sakura would probably wash out her tongue in a childish gesture had she known.

"What's even scarier is that Meilin's _not_ here. In the daylight too." Tomoyo snorted which, undeniably, was uncharacteristic of her.

"Well, she does seem like a vampire, but I promise she isn't. She just had to drop some things off for Clow-sama." Syaoran visibly winced.

"Ouch." Tomoyo nodded knowingly.

"Just be glad you don't have to put up with her when she gets back."

"By the way Daidouji-san, you really should stop telling me that Meilin wants to see me when she really doesn't. Meilin's really starting to get annoyed by it."

"Then why do you keep coming?" Syaoran focus was recaptured at that question, and he would have taken a small step back if not for the closed door securely shut behind him.

"It really is interesting that you call each other by the first name when you refuse to do so with any one else. Meilin-chan can be so difficult. Right, Li-kun?" Syaoran's mouth started to produce recognizable sounds again.

"Hey! What happened to Li-san?" As an after thought he added, "And it's none of your business." Tomoyo smirked, and sighed.

"Yes. I know it's not." She stared fondly at her bare feet before placing her arms behind her and arching her back slightly in a stretch. "Talk to Sakura-chan recently?"

By now this was common procedure, and he let out a quiet affirmative response.

"Any favors come up?" This was where he always lost his temper, especially when Tomoyo delivered the punch. She always droned it out just right.

"No, and that's for the last time! Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Tomoyo shrugged nonchalantly as if she really had no clue. It only served to increase his annoyed mood.

"Oh, it's nothing really. Say… you keeping up with your studies?"

"Of course I am." Tomoyo didn't miss the prideful part of the statement. It was amusing how the anger had instantly converted to something so much more… arrogant.

"That's good to hear. Make sure you don't work too hard though. I don't want you to be my first guinea pig." Syaoran knew full well that Tomoyo had immersed herself in Medical Studies and what she meant by the statement.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry about that. You just worry about making sure Kimura-sensei and Midori-sensei don't figure out you're not doing your own work." (2)

"Hey, it's only Kimura-sensei I have to worry about," Tomoyo defended distinctly. She didn't like to have the fact she didn't do her Basic Studies work flaunted in her face. Fortunately for her, she had perfected absolute calm when questioned how she balanced everything.

"Midori-sensei is the one who does Medical Studies. And we all _know_ that Meilin couldn't help me there. She's more likely to be the one who creates my patients." Syaoran secretly agreed. "And see! Look here!" Tomoyo held up what she was studying with one hand. Her handwriting lightly marked the names of the bones she was set to study. She waited for his response.

For lack of anything to say, Syaoran didn't. "You should learn to talk more." Tomoyo's wise advice fell on deaf ears. He half-suspected what was coming next.

"You also should learn to be a little less- How to put it? Well, I guess I could say-"

"Right. I have to go. Yeah." Tomoyo watched him flee with a smile.

Not that she wanted him to go, really. But she did have studying to do. Besides, it was fun. And it never failed.

-­-e--a--

Yes, Sakura had done the unthinkable. Finally. And after the first unrelenting bouts of gloating and other demeaning activities, Syaoran let her live it down. Sakura could remember the scene perfectly too of her caving in and swallowing her pride. It was not something to easily forget on her part. Before the taunting phase had set in though, Sakura heard Syaoran mumbling something along the lines of 'so that's what they meant' as he looked to be having an epiphany.

As soon as Tomoyo had found out about the development, she confided that she was a little more than just disappointed. Her inquires on the matter had been keeping her in good spirits. Sakura thought that she was always happy no matter what. That and she enjoyed torturing her way too much.

So, regardless of Tomoyo's reaction, it had happened, and it had somehow wormed its way into their daily schedule. It was a miracle it even fit in the first place seeing how she tried to make the most of her time, especially in training. (It was times like these that she truly felt sorry for Tomoyo who had even less time). But she really did need to bring up her grades to even continue doing that, resulting in the pathetic begging on her part. Sakura seriously thought that Syaoran was doing the favor completely out of pity. But then she found that was fine, as long as he was helping her.

But enough was enough in her book. She could only handle so much math in one session so she suggested they call it a day for now. Tomorrow was always an option. And though she hated he fact that she'd have to waste more time then (although admittedly the same was true for Syaoran), she'd put up with it. Her grades were improving, if only very slowly. Besides, she couldn't deny that Syaoran's company was all that bad. He just got on her nerves a little too often.

But every once in a while they found a common ground and had a nice conversation.

"And then I heard Rae-san gave him a black eye." Sakura was overcome by the mental image as she burst into a fit of giggles. Syaoran seemed to understand the story perfectly. To him, there was nothing out of the unimaginable with the supposed rumor. When Sakura recovered herself, she remembered Tomoyo's request.

"Hey, how did you do it?" Upon her obvious lack of elaboration, she continued, "You know, have her let you call her Meilin." Syaoran considered it for a moment.

They continued their way around the main building of the complex. Clow worked here, but they hadn't come there to interact with him. They had simply come out of a borrowed sitting room where they had done their studying session. Sakura's room had been overtaken by Rika and her still recently arrived friend, Naoko, and Sakura refused to go over to Syaoran's room. She claimed adamantly she couldn't study there for reasons yet told. So this was where they had settled on the place of meeting.

After a long pause from which Sakura thought there would be no answer returned, there came a soft, "We go way back. Before the whole Clow Reed thing." Sakura blinked in surprise. She hadn't thought she'd actually get something like that out of him when so many previous and similar attempts had failed. Those initiated by Tomoyo too.

"Really? I knew you two knew each other when I came along." A moment of silence commenced for the incident that had marked her arrival. "But Tomoyo never told me that you two didn't meet on the way here."

"Well, Daidouji-san came along after us. She wouldn't know." Sakura became quiet as she absorbed this new information. She clutched at the materials she had used for the tutoring.

"Thanks again," she smiled. Syaoran looked thoughtful. "Now all I have to do is finish practicing melting ice…"

"That's what you're doing right now?"

"Well, yeah. What are you working on? Tomoyo told me about those burns." Her eyes adopted a sympathetic look. She knew how troublesome and painful burns were.

"Putting out fires. Boring." Sakura nodded. She could see why he didn't find it all that interesting. This was Syaoran after all.

"Well, just look ahead. If you don't learn that you can never get past Fire Novice. You still need to graduate to Fire Trainee. Then it's the real challenge to Fire Apprentice. Before you know it, you're probably going to be at the Prerequisites! Maybe even passing!" Sakura had lost herself in an optimistic rant. Syaoran smirked.

"Meilin won't like me passing." Sakura frowned just a bit.

"Well, we do know the risks, but I'm not going to give up because of them. I still have to beat you, after all."

"If you can." Sakura snorted and crossed her arms, looking off into the distance, slightly miffed. He always knew how to ruin a moment.

Out of the corner of her eye, however, she could see those who were making the heard footsteps. She turned her head completely, and she minimally saw Syaoran do the same. The two figures walked by, but not before Sakura lingered on the color sapphire.

Once out of earshot, Sakura turned to her companion. "Clow-sama…" she trailed off. "But who was that with him?"

"You didn't hear?" Sakura shot him a confused look.

"Hear what?"

"That's his apprentice. Hiragizawa Eriol."

_**-End Act I-**_

_(1) Tried looking it up, but it was difficult. I decided I wouldn't add a 's' at the end of Elemental-sama to convey more than one because I don't believe that is done. Any corrections would be received with open arms._

_(2) Kimura-sensei and Midori-sensei really are characters in Card Captor Sakura. Well, at least in the manga. They're basically two teachers and nonexistent. So I don't really know anything about them, but they should only be mentioned and not appear so it's all good._

**Whew, this story really is a monster. You have no idea how good it is to type "End Act I". At least now the story can move on with a plot. I hope I didn't confuse anyone beyond repair with all the information I threw at you. I'm willing to explain anything that you don't understand if need be.**

**And now here's the part where I talk about the future of the story. There are six acts in total and one epilogue. I have outlined the story until the end, but only thoroughly up to chapter twenty. Still it now really looks like twenty-nine chapters (including the epilogue). There should be two side fics regardless of how popular this story is. One is mostly comprised of one-shots with moments left out from the actual story and with parts of the characters' pasts. The second is a probably mild ExT side fic based on something that happens between Act IV and Act V. **

**So there you go. I might not leave work on any other story right now, but it does seem like the perfect time. Who knows when I'll be done with Act II. Well, we'll see what happens. Sorry for the long author's note. Take care readers!**


	5. Future

_**Elemental Aeon  
**__Kesshou Uryou_

**Act II  
****Chapter V  
****Future**

Clow's program hadn't always been just that. It had humble beginnings started not even by Clow Reed himself. It was the time that people were more divided over their beliefs on what to do, if anything, about the crisis the world was going through. Everyone was greatly spread out, with many more people out to seek money from their gifts by helping towns. This is how more people came to despise the Elementalists. Sometimes it was not possible to get the job done, but many went off with the money anyway. Times were hard. They were seen as thieves and regarded to be on a lower rank of the social hierarchy.

Few unified methods such as Clow's program existed. When they did, they were always falling apart. Nothing stood the test of time. It did not take long, however, until ordinary people were beginning to think Elementalists were the cause of the world's problems. And as hatred grew for Elementalists, more began to come together. Clow's predecessor had taken the opportunity to begin to create what was established today. It was still a risky endeavor back then, but it was slowly accomplished.

Clow quickly joined in during the more unstable days, rising in the status and potential that an apprentice needs to have. But after the position was secured, Clow started to develop conflicts with his master.

With these disagreements, came controversy and split member base. Elementalists began taking sides, but Clow Reed's master stood firm, and the matter was closed. However, Clow, as can be easily seen today, was not stopped. His ideals desired a larger, more effective program that started with younger initiates than the teenager to young adult ones they had at the time. He believed they renounced themselves from the program too soon and did not serve enough time to overall effort.

His master was too tentative to go through with any of Clow's plans, making the relationship strained and less successful. The program suffered. But for such a healthy man, the Clow's predecessor died an early death, and Clow finally had the way cleared for his plans.

He began to tour around with the actual routes to seek out potential Elementalists. It was the first time the program itself had recruited. Before then, it waited for those interested to seek it out. Now, instead of starting to gather orphans that were deemed useful, Clow made offers to the parents of talented kids. He agreed to train them and give them a good education, which appealed to the poorer of families. Some agreed to take the salary-like pay the child would receive once they achieved the Trainee level and went on their own routes to devastated towns. Others still rarely sought him out to make their child great.

Thus, the program grew from a barely sufficient amount to one with a plethora of recruits. It quickly rose in its status concerning its effectiveness and prestige. More people than ever approached with their children if they were accepting of Elementalists.

Clow saw to all of this. He was still as ambitious as he was in his earlier years under his former master. Training increased, the levels that a recruit progressed through were revised. What was set out for each, including education, was refined. And a method that his master had theorized about to seal the elements, became reality although still primitive and only somewhat effective. The elements have noticeably calmed down after it has been executed even though few can recognize or remember the difference. There is still no denying the reign that Clow's program has in the world. Today we follow on in Clow Reed's footsteps and continue the foundation that is still growing.

**-Three Years Later-**

Meilin closed the book with a sigh. The small illumination coming from the iridescent candle was waning on the table in front of her. It had been another wasted night. Nothing here could help, and she already knew all of this. Clow's predecessor had left to Clow Reed. Next inevitably would come that apprentice of Clow's. She did not know much about Hiragizawa, but he was not what she was concerned with.

Sliding the chair back with a light scraping sound, she supposed that this was not the right way to go about it. There'd be nothing written down here to help her. She just might as well get some well-deserved sleep and work it out tomorrow. She'd start a new approach tomorrow.

But still her dragging feet felt much more than they very well should. By the time she had reached the dusty bookshelf, she felt like she could just fall asleep standing just as she was. That was not a good sign.

Tomorrow would be a hectic day. The Novices were attempting to reach Trainee level in the morning and throughout the afternoon. It would only mean one thing, however. Clow would be giving her much more work than usual. This had not been the best of nights to make worthless secret excursions.

Picking up her candle gently, she had to lock the room back up and return the key without making a sound. And by the time she got back to her room, she'd have to be epitome of silence to avoid waking the younger girl. She had been so nervous and anxious during the day that walking her up was something even Meilin wouldn't do.

So sliding her slippers sloppily across the cold floor, she made her way back, rubbing at each eye in an attempt to keep herself alert.

--e--a--

It was a mild morning. There was just that right amount of sunshine to mix with the passing clouds. Sakura stood off slightly to the side, finding her breath after having just been tested. Her hands that had been clasped at her chest had finally been lowered as she took shorter and shorter spurts of air as she surveyed the still progressing surroundings.

It had been a long three years. The first one had been the shortest of them all in actual length as the year was already setting at that point. It had only really been half a year full of adjustments and new discoveries. But the last two years had been tiring ones where there had to be a balance between training and schoolwork. There needed to be getting used to restraining elements and attempting to control them. With Sakura, as well with those she knew, she passed the written exam proclaiming she had finished her basic studies along with the elemental history. That had only left the actual element testing. The verdict had not yet been announced, but it had been strenuous enough to get her breathing hard.

Too anxious and restless to sit, although her body requested it, she stood bent over upon herself now, staring tirelessly at her mudded boots. They had seen much wear since she had them donated to her. Clow's program came with its perks but to her it did not feel like a free ticket to comfort.

"You shouldn't be bending over. You'd recover faster standing up." Sakura's reluctant shift of her head was belittled by her hanging bangs. Slowly standing up, she put a hand to her forehead, lifting the majority of the hindering bangs. Sakura was left to squint at the source of the light and excitable feminine tone.

"You look familiar." It was a simple statement. Sakura, however, did not know what possessed her to say it.

"Do I?" The girl in question was much older than her, an older teen by any standards. She gave off a comical sense of inner thought before grinning and poking the younger girl's forehead neatly after Sakura had dropped her bangs. "I don't know where you got that idea."

Sakura shifted. "Um… I'm sure I've just seen you around." Still, Sakura was sure she would not notice one person out of so many. She just wasn't that observant, and she'd have to admit it. Although she still fought Meilin's blatant claims that she was dense. Because she simply wasn't.

Another grin from the older girl but this time with hands clasped at her chest. "Well, I have been hanging around here. I was one of the many judges, don't you know? But I've got to get back to watching some more scrawny earth elementalists fall on their butts. A couple of other things too now that I think about it." A contemplative look on the girl looked absolutely… off. "So… you can just thank me later." Sakura's processing 'what' died on her lips. A cheerful and light push on the not expectant Sakura caused her to land ungracefully with a rather painful thud. Her momentarily flailing arms dropped belatedly.

Sakura blinked a few times at the retreating girl. "Hey, why did you do that?" Her cute variant of anger was taking over. Shaking her hand in a fist vigorously, the teenager purposefully mistook it for a wave.

Cupping her mouth in one hand, she returned the wave with another. "I guess I just don't know my own strength. See ya around!" Then she stopped her backwards walking to turn around with long hair whipping around all. She was gone before Sakura even considered getting back up.

"Did you just collapse after the exam?" Sakura slowly looked up to another speaker, so hesitatingly as if she was moving towards her own death. Then everything kicked back in, and she was up faster than a speeding bullet.

"No!" Sakura was undecided over a frown or a pout. She chose an indignant stare. "Some weird girl just pushed me down!"

Syaoran crossed his arms and turned his head stiffly to the side, away from Sakura's adamant stance. "Yeah right." He told himself he was not looking for a hyperactive and insane girl knocking everyone down in a mile radius. Which, of course, there wasn't. So he wasn't looking in the first place.

"It's true!" Sakura would absolutely not let herself lose on this one. Although their fights had died down significantly through the years, there never was any obvious lack of calm verbal fights over random and unnecessary topics. Sakura had happily seen that Syaoran had a gentler side than he first came across as and had even crossed an important boundary. She had been promoted to such a level that she could call him Li-kun. Seemingly small progress for some, it did not hold true in this case, and Sakura knew that. See, she wasn't dense at all.

The small argument that Sakura was sure would take place, however, did not. She was silenced from Syaoran offering a hand down to her. For a moment she just blinked. "Eh?"

Syaoran adopted his impatient face, eyes adverting as Sakura noticed how the sun was giving him a slight burn across his face. Now that she thought about it, the sun could be a bit stronger than she probably first thought. But Syaoran was now waiting, and she took his hand firmly standing to full height with a smile.

"Thanks, Li-kun." Sakura would go as far as calling the two of them as relatively ordinary friends. She had no other words to describe the relationship between her and Syaoran, the latter of which was still refusing to make eye contact.

"How did you think you did?" Syaoran was always more comfortable talking about what they really were there for in the first place. Combined with his straight to the point mind and apparent disregard for returning common curtsey made him the Syaoran she knew. She couldn't restrain the smile although Syaoran, of course, passed it off as Sakura being a habitually beaming kind of girl. He finally established eye contact again, and this time he maintained it.

Sakura took to scratching her head in a half-thoughtful manner. "Hmm… that's a good question."

"What do you mean? How'd it go? What do you think?" Sakura stopped her action and swung her hand down to grasp his upper arm to move him out of the way of a rather loud group approaching in their direction. Obviously they had yet to be tested from their obvious stiffness and the tense words sprouted between them.

Syaoran quickly squirmed his way out by the time they were clearly out of the way and adopted one of his favorite actions. One over the other, his arms laced up again across his chest. Sakura knew what very little patience Syaoran ran on and decided to put him out of his small misery. Her eyes calmly traced the group that was still in sight.

"Well, like them I was nervous. But I think I did my best even after having to stand in that long line, watching people come back like there was nothing worse thing in the world. I came on time for once." Here they both had to grin while she added a small laugh. "So I didn't miss my scheduled time. I don't think there's anything more I could have done. It really tired me out though. I couldn't catch my breath!"

"Yeah, even I had trouble with that. I wasn't expecting them to ask for so much demonstrations right after another. And they told you to keep your element under control for such a long time for each one. I didn't really train for that." Sakura nodded in comprehension. That had held true for her too.

"I wonder how everyone else did." Sakura half-heartedly looked into the mess that was the main grounds of the complex. She knew there was little hope of spotting anyone she recognized. Not while the tests were still being held and would be for still some time. Her memory was also failing her on the times her friends were required to show up. It was a lost cause. But still…

"Hey, it was really lucky you could find me in this, huh?" Syaoran seemed startled by the question, but he nodded rather hesitatingly before Syaoran quickly reverted to the previous topic.

"But you didn't say if you knew if you think you passed or not." Sakura paused for a bit in thought before she took a short, calm breath.

"I don't want to jinx myself. I'm not sure, but I won't stop hoping. It was harder than I thought it would be. I heard they really wanted to test if you had the ability to move on and do well. So they didn't prepare us completely for it, but I still didn't expect it to be like that." Sakura inched ever so slightly closer, tilting her head. "And what about you?"

"Of course I'm passing." There he went again. Still, it was Li-kun to Sakura, and she couldn't imagine another way he'd respond.

"Always so sure, Li-kun! I hope you do then." Syaoran was back to looking everywhere but Sakura's placid and content look.

"Whatever." Sakura laughed. She would have said something else, but Syaoran anticipated this and maneuvered the conversation to something he found far more appealing. "Do you want to go harass Meilin?"

Sakura knew it wasn't that nice, but torturing the girl as she was being overworked seemed like a nice form of a pastime while the outcome of their exams were being confirmed. It was a nerve racking time and thinking about it too much only highlighted what had gone wrong over what had gone right. And truth be told, the older girl would do the same to her if the situation was reversed. "Sure! Maybe she can even help us get our results faster."

--e--a--

She felt dizzy and lightheaded, curled up in an ominously dark corner. She liked it here for she didn't need to project the emotions onto her face. She felt like she was already bathed in them.

She had told herself that she would get up in time. She said that she would make her way back when she was feeling better. But she hadn't felt better. She was still sick to her stomach. And one by one, her unknowing co-workers had left, leaving a crumpled form pressed against the intersection of two cool walls.

And it really struck an inner chord to see that she wasn't missed at all. She had gotten far fairly fast. She was in her own right a junior attendant in the medical department. But today, she with a perfect record of showing up was not in her right frame of mind. In fact, for a while she had thought she had lost her it completely.

The crying had been normal enough. The small outbursts of sobbing and the weeping and tearing and the utter feeling of uselessness had been okay. That was within the perimeters of her boundaries. No one had seen at least. She was strong enough to whiter away where people could not see her do so.

But then she had gotten angry. How ironic she had thought. And she had sobbed it at no one in particular. Then her mind was overridden and her hands got to work. Writing and writing and splattering ink down her front. Then she had done some unconscious walking and sealed her fate. She could not believe she had done it. She could not believe she had sent it. But she had.

At first she cried some more. But then satisfaction had sunk in. A smirk that she had told herself never suited her had found itself rather welcomed on her face. It had felt like a weight being lifted from her shoulders.

She had decided she could muster up the will to do what work she was still _wanted_ to do, but she had not counted on the guilt to eat her away. She thought that she had been finally content with what she did, but now she just felt like it was a great mistake. Everything had been pointless and she, worthless. She shouldn't be here.

Adorned in the uniform, she had slinked against the door that separated her from the room she was supposed to be in. She could hear it was a case of an unstable elemental source within the patient. She wasn't actually doing any of the work, but she should be in there to watch and take notes and learn because she would be doing that someday. But she didn't feel like she could now.

And the cries of an unauthorized visitor inside being painstakingly annoying and disruptive as she pointed things out didn't exactly brighten the prospect of going in. Not that the unruly guest's words registered much.

She had found her current hide away a rather agreeable one. It matched her miserable mood. Her face had long ago stopped producing tears, but her eyes were still bloodshot despite never crying a single tear since she had donned her designated outfit.

At this point, she knew she'd just be staying the night there. That was until someone had to come by who was rather loud which made her want to create a wince on her rather emotionless visage. The late night visitor, a surprising one since most people had left by this hour except for those working on critical patients, turned the corner and immediately stopped in their tracks. But then they were quick and bounding and just too damn fast and loud to the girl burrowed into a snug little corner despite how her back and legs had protested after some time.

"Tomoyo!" She felt something akin to another person collecting her into their arms. And that same person knew her name and sounded familiar, and she looked and breathed unevenly at her best friend kneeling before her. Her breath of "Sakura" was lost in Sakura's continued rant.

"I was looking _everywhere_ for you! I was so worried. What happened? I went to your room, but you weren't there like we planned. Meilin had no idea what was up, but she really hasn't stopped by the room today anyway, so I had no clue where you were. I thought you might be here…" She trailed off as she finally realized that Tomoyo was, of all places, squashed into a dark corner with all the signs of depression and previous crying.

"What happened?" she repeated herself. Tomoyo open and closed her mouth. "Tomoyo?" Tomoyo did not show signs of having heard. "You can tell me. We're best friends."

Tomoyo couldn't take it. She didn't need much prompting. She broke down all over again. "I-I didn't make it." Sakura, in all her non-literal shortsightedness did not see this coming. "I completely failed! I'm so useless!" Sakura closed her eyes and almost lost herself. Tomoyo never cried. Sakura cried. Tomoyo didn't.

"Tomoyo…" Sakura found she was missing all the other words she had planned out. Anything she could say would offer no comfort. She'd have to let Tomoyo talk herself out. This was not even something she could relate to. She had had a bounce in her steps, she and Syaoran reduced to grinning idiots which was a rarity for the latter. She had passed with higher approval than she had expected. And now she had to listen again to something she could never understand because Tomoyo was working out words again against the tears.

"I… I thought I was good enough for it! I never told anyone this… b-but when I was younger a stray elementalist told me that… that I had all four elements. I just decided to work with wind." Tomoyo had started, and now she couldn't stop.

"And it was true! So true. I could already control the elements even if it was just a tiny bit before I ever decided to join Clow's program. And that, that was so rare. I o-once said that my town honored elementalists. The majority of us were ones, so it made sense. S-someone who had all four is always a rare treasure. And people recognized me for it. People said I-I had a lot of potential for it." Tomoyo took a pause where the crying intensified until she fought against the crying and her uncontrolled breathing.

"My m-mother became obsessed with the idea. I c-could bring great honor to our family. She had no powers herself. She d-decided I was going to go away and master them all. I was going to make her so p-proud. I didn't… I didn't want to go away, but she didn't give me any choice. I h-had to be the b-best. That's what was expected of me. And I failed." Tomoyo lost the ability to speak once more, and Sakura somehow knew this spell would last longer than the previous ones. The small opportunity was used to rack her mind for a thought, any thought. And she finally found something that could be spoken.

"Tomoyo that's amazing. Having all four is really special. I've been told that if you have all four, that automatically makes you incredibly smart. No wonder you've always been so far ahead of me in everything." Tomoyo let out an undistinguishable sound at this point. Sakura shifted carefully.

"If that's true," Tomoyo gasped out, "why can't I figure out how to make myself better? I had no endurance! I couldn't control the wind under their directions. I couldn't do anything! I felt so worthless! I didn't have to wait for the results. I knew I hadn't made it."

Silence was not something Sakura could easily stand anymore. Through the years she had learned to socialize without hindrance, always brightening a room with her presence when she could, but this time it would not be right to brighten up the small little corner that Tomoyo still secluded herself to. Sakura was right there in front of her, but she was still felt worlds apart. Sakura was unable to fight the quiet that had become a minor mortal enemy.

But finally, she let her mouth run, and by the end of it, she was hoping she was right.

"If you really want to know what's wrong… Try to get a hearing with Clow-sama. He could tell you what's going on."

"I don't need him to tell me I'm weak!" Tomoyo struggled at the notion.

"You're not weak. He would tell you that too if you talked to him. There must be something else a person with all four elements could do. People like you are rare! You don't have to be the best in the field to bring honor to your mother! Or yourself!"

Tomoyo sunk further down, her crying teetering off as silence consumed once more. The hall, and more importantly the corner, wasn't getting any lighter. It was night after all. But Tomoyo seemed resigned for the moment, and she closed her eyes and breathed, trails of tears beginning to dry again.

Sakura thought things would be better now. It would just take a little bit of time. But things could go back to as close to normal as they could. They had to. Their dream of traveling together might not go off as planned, but there would be another way. This wasn't something they couldn't work through. Yes, Sakura felt everything would be alright now.

Tomoyo simply didn't bother to tell Sakura of a certain nasty and hatred filled letter she had sent home to mother dearest.

--e--a--

Truth be told, Sakura felt like crap. The night before she had stayed up most of the night with Tomoyo who felt the need to move was not important. By the time Sakura had gotten her moving, she found she was practically dragging the older girl. It was all she could do to find an empty medical ward and place the raven haired girl there as Sakura had pulled up a chair, making sure she didn't fall asleep before her friend. It was a feat almost unattainable, but it had been accomplished with a lot of will power.

In the morning Tomoyo was still lying there, something that screamed wrong because Sakura knew that it was around noontime and Tomoyo never slept late. Still, it seemed like a blessing for the emotionally worn out girl so Sakura left her there under the care of an attendant that was making rounds. It fell heavy upon her heart to leave her there as her name was being registered as a patient despite nothing physically was wrong with her, but Sakura herself had to be instated as a Trainee.

And it felt like complete backstabbing to be going to what Tomoyo had desperately wanted to attend even if it wasn't for her own goals, but Sakura had to reason honestly with herself. She couldn't give up just because her friend hadn't succeeded. She had been told that her friends would not all make it. That it could be a lonely road. That was said from day one. But she hadn't expected Tomoyo, of all people, to be the first to fall of those she actually knew well. She had always seemed so capable. Maybe Tomoyo had been struggling lately with wind training, but she had never let on, and Sakura had seen no hints to suspect at. Things just seemed to have fallen apart despite how strongly she had believed things would be okay eventually just the night prior.

That was the one thing on her mind as she had stood between fellow water graduates. She had left that room with a new schedule and a new lifestyle ahead of her. But it was not with the smile she had envisioned it with. She had adorned a frown for the occasion. The only one she had seen from the whole bunch. Sakura felt that maybe this was not the right path for her, after all, but it was too late to turn back now even with a friend that had fallen behind. Sakura would only have to keep looking forward no matter how hard it got.

Sakura had plans today to convene with Syaoran and talk about the ceremony that had them both decked out in formal robes. The colored cotton objects were courtesy of the program itself, which fortunately left the expenses to a nonexistent amount. They did not, after all, make any amount of money until they were of Trainee level.

Yesterday would be for celebrating with Tomoyo. Today Syaoran had said he had a surprise. She had totally forgotten the promise now as he caught up with her, he in red, contrasting her deep blue draping outfit.

"What's with you?" That had been the first words out of his mouth, and Sakura clicked shut her frowning mouth shut immediately for fear of something leaking out unconsciously. Tomoyo had said she didn't want anyone else to know. Sakura was there for her. Sakura would not let anyone else know. Even Sakura knew they would ultimately find out, but Sakura would keep her word. Tomoyo deserved that much.

"It's nothing." Syaoran didn't look convinced. Sakura didn't blame him. Of course she should be smiling. But she wasn't, and that called unwanted attention. She had to keep his mind off of it. When Syaoran showed obvious concern like he was now, she knew it was serious to him. "Wasn't there a surprise you wanted to show me?"

Syaoran blinked, but Sakura thought he caught her words filled with a rare second meaning: please drop it. Syaoran went along with it, grinning cockily.

"How about a match? Nothing serious. Just the first to fall loses."

Sakura had thought about it with her brain no longer in working order at that point. She was getting a headache, a rather uncommon occurrence for her. She was feeling like crap, and she had somehow managed to mouth an agreement. Which lead to the present.

Searing. That's what her mind now solely grasped. A burn, at times, was thought consuming and a rather large distraction. Dousing it messily in water before being forced to dodge was not helping the matter. Sakura had thought right. Syaoran was aggressive in his attacks.

Her tired mind was throbbing; her dominant right arm was feeling a bit too stiff from its overworking. But above all, the burning slithered past all other thoughts, she wincing every time she needed to bend her knees too much and curve her left arm around. The pain was becoming overwhelming. But Sakura just dug her feet firmer into the ground. That's not a reason to lose.

Granted Syaoran couldn't be completely peachy considering she had made her own offensive marks albeit she admitted they were sloppy. Syaoran had focused a lot on the field in general. Sakura had worried about mastering her element as much as was needed. Complete mastery of water _was_ the hardest aspect of the particular element, and it was her hard work that allowed to her condense the water vapor around her.

Fire was the only element that you had to produce on your own, and Sakura saw it take the toll on him. It was physically taxing, but constantly having to change the water in the air into something usable was slowing her down and causing her breath to come in longer segments.

There was no time to catch it. Sakura dug her heel in deeper to give her a focus point as she had to spin around to avoid a very fine and straight line of fire. Traveling along the cracked earth of the training ground slowly curving, she watched it continue its route before she turned her head back around and decided that was an opening as any. Syaoran still had his arms trailing the route of the small fire trail. He hadn't been able to release quick enough.

Concentrating the water vapor into its common liquid form, she increased the speed of the small and aimed projectile. She drew first blood across his upper arm, ripping of a part of the worn shirt's sleeve. They had had the sense to change first, at the very least. Those robes were forever stuffed into the back of their small wardrobes, never to be used again and rarely ever seen once the newness wore off. If they were ever fated to be promoted to Apprentice level, they would receive the much nicer silk robes.

But now the blood, suffocating and true, was proof enough of her advance. She saw him wince, but he still hadn't released and reformed another fire connection. Instead he broke his two arm stance to spread them wide across his arm span. And then higher.

And then Sakura realized and complained quietly as she was completely surrounded in flames. She should have known Syaoran was not yet tired enough to be unable to stop his failed attack. She blamed her carelessness on her head and the burns and most importantly the diversion of freshly spilt blood.

But she wasn't going to give up so easily like Syaoran was expecting. He was waiting for the words of surrender, but she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. She knew and he knew that she was too tired and had not yet been able to master enough water at a time to extinguish the high flames. To cancel out another element was something of higher attributes, and fire just flowed easily. Once you had released it, it tended to grow by itself without your help. You had only to control how large it need be. Syaoran had obviously used the disadvantage. But one day, she promised that she'd show him how he could never win against a water elementalist. Someday when she was better and wouldn't lose.

So Sakura instead focused as much water to rain down upon her. Fist after fist, the motion left her drenched, but that was what she needed. With a lurch causing her head to swarm, she ran through the seemingly living wall. She was well aware of the fact of the new burns and just how stupid that had been. She clutched her arm that had taken the bulk of her stupidity as her knees gave way. They had, after all, already been burnt.

So she had fallen. So she had lost after all. If she had to lose, at least it was to Syaoran. Although his ego didn't need any growing, she still would give him the credit. For now she'd just blame the loss on feeling like crap, lack of sleep, and her deficient amount of attention to the actual little match. She'd just have to make sure Syaoran didn't gloat. With this, she reclined onto the packed earth to look at the passing clouds. Syaoran joined her. He must have seen her resigned expression and decided to say nothing at first.

Sakura decided, just to be safe, to get off the matter of the little fight. "How did your ceremony go? Did the four Elemental-sensei congratulate you too? I was surprised they all showed up, but I'm looking forward to working with the Water-sensei. Mitsuki-sensei seems really nice."

Syaoran stretched out too on the ground before he answered. "It was fine. Not as exciting as I hoped, but at least it meant that we've made it to the next level. And yeah, they were all there." There was a somehow awkward pregnant pause before he was once again speaking. "The Water-sensei does seem nice. I'm just wondering if the Fire-sensei is any good."

Sakura let out a long breath. "Of course Terada-sensei is good. They don't take just anybody." More silence came in which Sakura could only relish in the feeling of pain. "Hey… isn't it funny? About Li-sensei… Is there any relation between you and the Wind-sensei?" Sakura was not serious because after all, Li was a common surname, but she could tell she had hit a nerve. Nothing at first, but then it came.

"She's my mother." Sakura was sitting back up before either of them could process it sporting huge eyes. The pain shot up her arm with the motion and back down she came to the ground, slower this time around.

Sakura then remembered how to speak. "What? Why didn't you say anything? You don't even look like her!" Syaoran turned to his side, facing away from the questioning girl.

"You never asked." Sakura heard the gruff tone and decided to drop it.

"O…okay…" Struggling for a comfortable position, she closed her eyes. There was another surprise. Things seemed to be off and unexpected lately. She couldn't help thinking back to last night. Syaoran noticed the flitting frown.

"Something's bothering you… That wasn't your best. Do you want to talk about it?"

Sakura sighed. "I know you aren't patient, but please be for once. You'll find out sooner or later." Right. Tomoyo couldn't hide the fact forever. Whether or not he should or had the right to know, he would.

Syaoran took the hint. He let it go. There were still far more pleasant things to talk about. Like the setting sun, more about the ceremony that had occurred previously that day, the trips they'd soon be taking, or the income they'd soon be making. Or maybe just how he had kicked her butt just now. Yeah, the last one worked.

**Sakura and Syaoran are now twelve. Tomoyo is thirteen. Meilin is amazingly fifteen. That's really all the people I disclosed the ages of prior to the time jump. More characters and their ages will be making appearances soon. I was going to include some in this chapter, but it was full enough in my opinion. **

**And I have plans for Tomoyo. She's not about to disappear. **

**But if you want to see them or anything else, please review. I'm not sure about you, but I can't write twenty-nine chapters on nine reviews. So please, if you would be so kind, press that purple button right down there to the left. You have no idea how much I would appreciate it. **


	6. Test

_**Elemental Aeon  
**Kesshou Uryou_

**Act II  
****Chapter VI  
Test**

"Life isn't always fair."

Tomoyo had never envisioned this conversation taking place. She had already had the same words exchanged between herself and Meilin, both mauling over their shortcomings and the fact they were clearly not cut out to be Elementalists. (Albeit Meilin seemed to take the latter as a blessing while Tomoyo had taken it as a heavy blow.) But this was different. Meilin had been substituted by another.

"I don't need you to tell me that." Syaoran, arms crossed and all, was the replacement.

"Then stop moping around like a baby."

"I'm not." Tomoyo silently wished that Meilin was the one here, reciting her lines. He needed someone to accompany them with a thrashing.

"Yes, you are." Tomoyo sighed at his obvious lack of attention. "It's your own fault anyway," she accused, voice rising ever so slightly. "At least it's not the end for you. It's only a delay! How do you think I feel?" Syaoran had no response. He was never one gifted with words. It was better just to not reply to that one. Word had gotten around as fast as Tomoyo knew it would, but she still wasn't over the fact. It had not yet been that long. Sakura's still current attempts for her to get a hearing with Clow were proof enough of that.

"Look, Li-san. All you did was hit a bump in the road. Are you really going to let that get to you? Are you really going to prove them right? Do you actually have no talent? Is that it?" There was a pause.

"Of course not." It was an indignant answer.

"Then prove it." Tomoyo took it as her cue to leave. She had her regular shift to attend to at the medical ward. It felt like it was her last piece of actual usefulness. She couldn't help desperately clinging onto it. She was not going to loose again. Syaoran needed to learn he needed to stop complaining so much and start doing something about it. She was no expert on the matter, but this much she at least knew.

Syaoran was left staring at her back. Finally common sense kicked in before she was completely out of sight. Turning around himself, his mind was wrapped around the prospect of more training. If he wasn't good enough yet…

Tomoyo paused and sighed. She knew he had a one track mind. She saw it in action as she glanced. That wouldn't solve anything. She wondered how long it would really take for him to figure that out. But Syaoran was allowed to go his way as Tomoyo went hers.

--e--a--

Sakura couldn't sleep. That was saying something. She blamed the occurrence on being back to a less comfortable and a constantly shifting bed. She had eventually gotten used to the condition three years ago after being on the road for a length, but a lot of time had passed since. Now it was back to square one with a sleepless night ahead of her.

Still, there was another reason too. One of which she didn't want to recognize, at least to the same extent.

She was nervous. It was more than just being away from her new found home for the first time in years. It was something else. In fact, for a while now, the possibility of failure had been weighing more heavily on her. Now she was in actual competition with those she had worked so closely with before. One mistake could send you down the ranks so easily. From now on she had to make sure not to slip up. If she was ever going to make it to Apprentice level, she'd have to excel more than ever.

That was where the nervousness had originated. However, that wasn't the only thing darting across the brink of her conscious mind. Once again guilt was making itself known to her. Syaoran hadn't exactly taken extra measures to ensure she didn't feel like a traitor. Although, honestly, she'd have to say that it was his own fault.

You don't walk around with that attitude and expect to succeed. He always had to have it his own way, but maybe now he'd see he would only fall behind if he kept it up. She wondered how he'd make it to clearance for travel like she had done for there was no doubt in her mind that he would do so in the first place. The question was only how. If a reform of any kind was to take place, she wouldn't be surprised, but she knew that he was not one to willingly change so easily. He'd probably fake the results and turn back into a jerk again.

She sighed and folded her arms behind her head as she laid down upon the hard wooden flooring that was all too apparent through the practically paper thin mattress. Yes, sleep wouldn't be coming easily. Now, however, there was a stir not too far away. A sleepy voice infiltrated what was once quiet save for the rhythmic sound of turning wheels and progress across a rather smooth path.

"What is it Sakura?" Sakura started for a moment despite knowing that she had awoken. She calmed down and settled into her blanket for the nth time that night.

"It's nothing." Had there been any real source of light, Sakura would have attempted the smile that went along with it.

"Don't try to be so disarming." Sakura spared a glance in the other's direction.

"What are you talking about, Rika?" The fellow water Elementalist audibly shifted. Sakura could practically feel the sleepy grin.

"When you talk like that… kinda works too well." Sakura was more than just a little confused.

"Huh?" Clearly, understanding was not mutual here. A sigh was the first response.

"Forget about it. It's going to be tiring tomorrow no matter what. I don't need to be up half the night." Then as an afterthought, "You should try to sleep too." Sakura took to shaking her head even though the other girl had no hope of seeing the action.

"I can't stop thinking. So I can't fall asleep." It seemed then that Rika had sat up, and indeed she had.

"You're nervous. I am too. Don't worry. We'll make a good team. Watch my back and I'll watch yours." Rika didn't wait for a reply before lying down again.

"Hai." Sakura burrowed once again, knowing that it was still a futile effort. Rika's breathing evened out. Sakura's did not for a long time yet.

--e--a--

Syaoran walked out empty handed. He always did. Walking into that room made him feel suffocated and oppressed without fail. There was never anything gained from the visits, but it was required.

Just like it was required for him to succeed. And that was one of the few things that they agreed upon. Failure was a taboo word at least when it came to describing him.

But fail he did. It had been an unexpected loss to an unexpected battle. Syaoran laid the blame on one man: Terada. All common sense pointed out that the man wasn't really to blame entirely (Meilin had flaunted that in his face enough for one life time), but his grudge was not one to be let go of so easily. He just wasn't that kind of person. Meilin must be rubbing off on him.

The prospect was not surprising, but he supposed it was just another negative aspect of his personality to chalk up. After all, weren't his "lack of cooperation" and "failure to comply with orders" what had gotten him into this mess in the first place?

Having his mother call him just to mercilessly and tirelessly review this with him weren't going to fix things this time. Even his mother could not overrule a verdict made by another Elemental-sensei when the person in question was under the other's jurisdiction.

Instead he had been told to correct the problem by any means necessary, and he wondered if his mother actually meant that. She had spoken in her harsher of tones so he was certain of it, but did she really couldn't care less what happened to him so long as he did what was expected of him? He wasn't so sure about that.

"So how'd it go?" Meilin stood there, a book clutched to her chest and all smiles. Something had gone right. She wasn't at her full height, leaning against the wall like that, but even then she was still taller. The three year age difference did wonders.

"What do you think?" Syaoran was not in the mood to discuss a particularly sore spot. He never had been, and it had been overdone one too many times.

"That bad, huh?" The grin didn't leave as she leaned forward a bit for reasons unknown to Syaoran. It just seemed to amplify her good mood, which undoubtedly contrasted his sour one.

"What are you so happy about?"

"What, I'm not allowed to be happy now?" Meilin expertly shifted the book to her hands as they clasped behind her back. Syaoran knew something up. Then again, with her, something always was.

"You're never happy. Just obsessed." Syaoran knew that it was a bit of a lie. She could have her cheerful moments, but realistically speaking, she was pretty much a pessimistic at heart. Well, she hadn't always been, but for a very, very long time she had been. When exactly had she started again? Oh, right… _then_.

"Very funny. I'm in a good mood. So kill me." Her eyes shifted to the closed ornate door. They both knew what was behind there.

"She's willing to talk anytime you are." Meilin look surprised for a moment before looking at him with a sudden flicker of resoluteness in her eyes.

"We're a lot alike, Syaoran. We both don't like to follow the rules. But we're different too. You have to follow them." Syaoran knew she was implying where exactly that had gotten him: behind on his goals. Like he needed to hear that one again. "I don't."

She made her way down the hall, and he was left to wonder why she was there in the first place. Had she been waiting for him? Or had she been considering talking to her? Syaoran, coming back to reality, didn't completely loose the useful functions of his tongue.

"And what about with Clow-sama?"

Meilin made sure to give him a point blank glare before turning the corner.

--e--a--

She had never met him before. She had heard the stories and imagined the tales with envy. Just like everyone else. Surely they couldn't be completely true though. There was no way that he could have accomplished all of what had been rumored about the complex between bites of a quick meal and walks through the gardens and streets. Stuff like that just couldn't be possible. He was so young, and it just didn't work like that.

She didn't know why then she was doubting her once firm beliefs.

She told herself it was the way he carried himself. He just had the sort of ambiance to make people believe what they had heard. No wonder the gossip mills had gotten so out of hand.

And she wondered what it would be like, knowing that someone was out there whispering behind their hands as you walked by. You had done so and so, and that wasn't all either. Wait until you heard _this. _Something along those lines was what she had to imagine it as.

The reasons behind his so-called exploits had to be justified, however. It was him after all. Still, that only brought root to her jealousy again. He unquestionably met her mother's dream requirements. He was everything she was not and more.

She had summed this all up just from sitting across from him. Not a word had passed between them, and she was reduced to simply staring right at him. Surely he was used to it. Honestly, Tomoyo was too nervous and out of it to really care about his opinion on the matter. She'd only stop if he had something to say about it. And it was all too clear that he didn't so she went right on doing what she wanted to do. He just kept looking at the wall that her cushioned bench was against.

She had attempted to crane her neck to see what held his attention so steadfast, but the search was in vain. It was nice enough, but it was nothing in comparison to some of the other architecture feats of this place. What was so interesting was beyond her.

What was he even doing there to begin with? Wasn't he some sort of prodigy? Shouldn't he just be doing some solo training or something? Was it really necessary to wait here like this and be doing nothing? And then she realized that the last question applied to her, and she had no answer to it.

She hooked together her fingers at her lap as she endured more of the long wait in silence. How did Sakura ever talk her into this again? The conniving girl wasn't even here for Tomoyo to berate. When she got back…

"Are you alright?" Tomoyo had somewhere along the lines looked down at the ground with the closest thing resembling a scowl that she could pull off marring her face. More importantly, her hands were in a death grip with the folds of her skirt.

Tomoyo slumped her shoulders back in defeat. What a great way to make an impression. "I'm fine." The next part slipped out of her mouth before she even got a chance to register it. She did have an excuse though. His eyes _were_ still glued to the wall. "What are you staring at?"

That brought a common courtesy reaction. His eyes were sapphire-like in color and she mused how her observation skills were going down the drain if she hadn't noticed that. Soon she'd be as bad as her best friend. Speaking of that girl again-

"Nothing, really. Just thinking." Tomoyo was brought back to reality rather abruptly. She had almost forgotten that she was in the middle of a tentative conversation. However, she had forgotten who it was with, on the other hand.

"Oh." That was all there was to say as far as she was concerned. She wasn't even here to speak with him. All she wanted were to give a few words. She didn't desire the awkward atmosphere that settled around her. He seemed unaffected, and she wondered if she was just acting completely strange today. Thankfully her self-inquisition was cut short with the door opening. Finally, the waiting was over. Although it really hadn't been a very long one when she actually thought about it.

A graying, older man had stepped out of the now closed door. Tomoyo waited for a moment before taking that as her cue to enter. Leaving behind the young teenager of her age, she couldn't say she had that many regrets. She could finally get this over with. There'd be no more awkward waiting and knots in her stomach.

At seeing him standing directly in front of her, she bent into a bow without even thinking about it. Her greeting was short, but it was adequate. "Clow-sama."

He waved it off. "Sit down." Tomoyo obediently complied, sitting stiffly on the rather comfortable and single chair. There was another, but seeing as it was cornered off behind a large desk, Tomoyo refrained from even thinking about sitting there. From this position though, she had to crane her neck to still see him. As if noticing her dilemma, Clow moved into her direct line of sight.

For a couple tension-driven minutes, she thought he had completely forgotten that she had entered. Feeling very invisible, the only thing keeping her from thinking such was that he had spoken to her, and he couldn't possibly be so absentminded. Now, however, he was leafing quickly though a book that he had just taken from one of the numerous shelves aligning his large office. For the second time today, her tongue betrayed her.

"You have a large collection of books." Tomoyo managed to not clutch her mouth in realization and subtle horror. It had done the trick though. With a snap, the book was closed along its spine.

"To be informed is to be prepared." She kept silent there, the glare on his glasses making eye contact impossible. Clow seemed to resign himself to his fate as he too sat down, book still in his grasp. "Why did you come here today?"

Tomoyo steeled herself for what she knew was not going to be an answer she wanted. Stupid Sakura, this was no good at all.

"It wasn't really my idea… but someone, no me, I was wondering what I should do now that I have failed the Air Trainee exam. I was told I should cancel my elemental training and give up my status as an Air Novice. There are other options right?"

"Are you in any of the other programs?" Tomoyo almost narrowed her eyes, a little in confusion, a bit in frustration. That was avoidance of a question as any there was.

"Yes. The Medical Branch." A little confidence seeped into her voice. That was something she was always willing to talk about.

"How far along are you?" He was staring at the book he had closed again, but only at the cover as she remembered that she still hadn't gotten her answer. And here she was answering all of his questions.

"I'm advanced for my age."

"I see." He placed down his book with finality and made eye contact after a silent moment. "There's only one thing to be done then."

Tomoyo leaned forward almost unnoticeably, slightly eager. He was going to say something good, right? She was sure of it.

"Quit." Tomoyo practically recoiled. Eyes wide, she wanted to start protesting, but she didn't know where to start. What did you say to Clow-sama?

"Why is that the only option?" she managed to breathe out after a deeply rooted pause.

"Let me tell you this." Clow repositioned himself so that eye contact was still maintained but made Tomoyo feel smaller. "Some people have what it takes. You don't."

Tomoyo's grip on the edge of her chair was so tight she thought her arms were shaking, but she couldn't tell. That was unexpected. That was just… cruel. Saying that to her was the worst thing he could have done.

"The exams into Trainee level are that difficult for a reason. It shows who has the potential to continue. Usually when one doesn't pass, there is never any hope of continuing. There is the occasional late bloomer, but they so far have amounted to nothing much at your age."

Tomoyo took it all in. So that was it. It was all over. This had been completely pointless. She was going to be kicked out and be going home to a mother that would be less than pleased.

"You will, however, be welcome to stay as long as you're in the Medical Branch. As long as you're helping in some way, there's no need to make any changes. You can keep your accommodations and continue your work there. Now, do you have any requests or was that all you came here to discuss?" Tomoyo froze for a moment. It was that simple? Clow was wrapping this up like he dealt with this everyday. He probably did.

But now did she have anything to ask for? That was an unexpected question. She wanted to fill the void that elemental training had once occupied. She currently had substantial free time, and she didn't know what to do with it. And there was one thing she had been considering, but she hadn't voiced it out loud as of yet.

"It's sort of two things." Tomoyo started without even preparing how to exactly say it. "I would like to go into rehabilitation. And also, I'd like to further my skills by specializing in elemental history. For reference. To be informed is to be prepared." She managed a small smile at the end, hoping she wouldn't be denied.

Clow didn't take long to decide. At first Tomoyo thought he was reaching for the book he had been staring at before, but he changed direction and grabbed another one resting on his desk and held it towards her. "That wasn't very hard to grant." She tentatively made a reach for the object, and once she had it within her grasp, she held it towards herself. He continued, "I'll speak to the supervisor."

Tomoyo immediately stood up and dipped into a bow. She was back up before even a few moments and was making her way to the door. She muttered something in thanks and was leaning on the opposite side of the door with it firmly closed in relief before she knew it.

Hiragizawa was still there, his attention now focused on her. Rather it was on the book she held at her side, but she walked by without caring. She didn't understand Clow's apprentice, but she surely didn't even begin to get Clow himself. She wondered how Meilin held up at all. She already hated him. You'd have to be blind to not see that.

--e--a--

Things hadn't gone as planned. Someone had spoken over the commotion that they rarely did. Sakura decided that had to be the truth. If nothing else, the elements were almost entirely unpredictable. Planning could only you get so far. You had to be flexible. Even when this was only supposed to be a simple test run wherein she could learn the real workings. There wasn't supposed to be any emerging conflict that they'd have to face.

Needless to say, things had changed.

There was a bubble of emotions floating somewhere in her stomach as she stood there now and took it all in at once. She was watching a town burn to the ground for the second time in her life. The first experience was not one that had ever completely returned. It was made up of fast paced images that never slowed, full of bright orange and dancing light that made her skin seem too pale. They crept up on her when she felt she was alone and lost tucked in for the night with the last candle dying away.

She had lost all familiar faces, including Rika, as she stood in the unknown town. And she felt three years younger all over again before she had to shake her head to clear the feeling away.

It took time, precious seconds flooding by, but she regained her senses. Steadying her wobbly legs, she took to a fast run. The mission was a simple one. Not entirely primal instinct when one was in danger too, but an incentive that deserved the highest priority in her line of so-called work.

She knew she didn't have the same prowess as others that had tagged along. They had more experience, could handle the situation much better than she ever could at this point in time. She saw them handling the most intense parts of the fire and thinning out to where they needed to be. Sakura could only look for those who needed her help.

And she saw the first victim as surely as they had to be there. Hadn't others been returned to the recovery site in charred forms three years ago? Hadn't there been those who needed saving? They had been late that time. This time they weren't, and she could do something herself.

Was that sensation of control what she had been looking for all along? Was that why she dedicated herself to this questionable profession? To feel like she could make a difference in a situation like this… she liked the sound of those words. Now, however, was not a time for introspective conclusions.

The middle-aged woman was writhing in a way that provoked her churning stomach even more. Resistance to throwing up had to be set up right then and there. When she had calmed down, it was simple enough to conclude what had transpired. A building had collapsed; something that was not nearly out of the ordinary when an enflamed structure was concerned. Only this woman had been unlucky enough to be caught under a burning support beam.

There was no way that her lower body was fine, it being much more likely that it was completely crushed. There was something too disheartening knowing that a perfect stranger had just become crippled and you couldn't have done a thing because you hadn't been there to help. But now she was, and she wouldn't let the opportunity pass her by.

Sakura rushed to her side without registering it, already condensing the hot and humid air around her to at least help to put out some of the hindering flames. The woman was still struggling and squirming with no respite in sight. Sakura wondered if she even knew she was there, face smashed into the dirt as it was.

Sakura herself didn't even know when she started crying. She only knew she was. Mixed with sweat, the scene almost seemed too awkward to be real. But this was reality she knew because a dream couldn't be so damn depressing and let you know you were failing so desperately at the same time.

The flames were as resilient as the struggling woman. Sakura couldn't even begin to comprehend how she could go on in such pain, but she wasn't giving up. Sakura wouldn't either.

She knew the burn was coming, only an idiot wouldn't, but it stung still- worse than she had thought it would. She knew the blistering would come too if she kept it up, but she did. Because this was life or death here, and she couldn't give in to the momentary pain.

Some rubble budged. More came, and then some more. She realized however, that this wouldn't save the woman. She lowered to the ground, grabbing the woman securely as she tried to leverage with her feet just right. A few more quick scrambles to clear out some stubborn debris. Tugging and tugging and a sickening snap or two, but it was done. She was free. Everything was fine now. Then she glimpsed it.

Sakura only saw it for a moment. She wished she hadn't. The mangled mass that had once carried the woman on long strides were never to do so again. That could only mean one thing, a thing that Sakura had already seen coming. She wasn't sure if she could support the two of them although she made no hesitation hoisting her up on her shoulders.

Her knees almost buckled at the newly bestowed weight. She should have known better, but there were hardly any other options. It would be beyond cruel to drag her, and Sakura knew that this would be faster if she could just manage to keep her feet moving forward.

It was a long process. The woman had not stopped shifting, and Sakura could not tell if she even registered her change of position. Surely she could, but she gritted her teeth wishing she would stay still if that was the case.

She didn't know how far they had made it in what seemed an eternity, and she was afraid of looking back to see only a short distance had been traversed. So instead she plowed on, well aware that the flames were beginning to remove many of once available escape routes. She didn't want to think of what would happen if they completely were surrounded.

Her mind was distracted, however. It was only for a single moment, but it had happened and Sakura stared wide-eyed at the occurrence. Beyond the forming barricade of fire was a small boy. She could him very clearly, and she didn't have to think as to why. He was being burned alive.

Somewhere, in the very back of her mind, this all looked familiar. And she had watched this horror somewhere before. It had to be a dream. But reality and the present weighed her back down as her knees almost gave way.

The only way to save him was to leave this woman here. She could not move fast enough, and the range between them made the situation out of her control. She didn't know what difference she could make. She could only think that the smell of ash was more pungent than it had been a moment before.

If she went, if she really did, would the woman be cut off from her by the flames? Would she only be left to die in time too? What if she couldn't reach the boy in time and it was too late or she was too weak to save him? What if they both died?

Sakura stood unsteadily, mind racing. Why wasn't anyone else there? Why wasn't this happening to someone else? Why was this even _happening_?

How did she choose which one to save? How could she take the chance of letting them both die? How did you gamble with such a thing as life?

--e--a--

Meilin looked down at what she was grasping. She had her mouth half-open, already posed to begin talking. Her mouth froze, however, and for a few short lived seconds, she couldn't think.

"…So this is it?" Tomoyo didn't miss the slight edge to the other's voice.

"Yeah." She paused, then worked her mouth around a question of her own, "You okay?"

Meilin knew what she meant. She had been maintaining her good mood for a longer time than anyone had expected, but it had turned south in just a moment. But staring at this brought some memories back.

"It's nothing. Just seen something like this before. Does your mother have some sort of affinity for black?" Tomoyo blinked, seeing Meilin was back to prodding, teasing in her own way.

"Not that I know of. That's the first time she's done that." Meilin wisely said nothing more as Tomoyo curled up. She was out in front of a warm fire they had lit in the small fireplace they had in their room. It was not a cold day. There was no real need dictated by the weather. Rather today it was there for another purpose.

"So, can you just…" Tomoyo trailed off, knowing Meilin would get the message. She did and she didn't bother sitting down for the short task. She knew she wouldn't get very far before she had no desire to continue.

The black envelope opened smoothly like brushing water, and Meilin slowly unfolded the parchment that had once been inside it. She held it with both hands, reading quickly, as was her nature, before putting it down and sighing. She had made it about halfway through. She now lost no time in crumpling up the letter.

She walked over to Tomoyo who could now see Meilin as she plunked down beside her. Meilin offered the crinkled ball and Tomoyo stared. Meilin didn't give up so easily, taking Tomoyo's hand and encasing the offending object into her right palm.

"Go ahead." Tomoyo was hesitant.

"What did it say?" Meilin sighed in response.

"Just do it." Tomoyo tightened her hand into a fist before performing the action.

Meilin had been right, there was just a sense of release and relief watching it burn like that. And some things were probably better left unknown.

--e--a--

Sakura managed to hear a small snippet from another conversation, not being able to fully agree with what had been said.

"Pay _and_ rewards for everyone. It can't get any better than this." Obviously they were newly promoted Trainees too. Sakura couldn't help but think how different she was from them. It had been like a nightmare.

Now the sun was shinning through the apertures of the canopy of green leaves where the fire had not reached. She was situated just on the outskirts of a town that was never supposed to have burned last night. It was supposed to be a relief mission where fires had been occurring frequently. Nothing had gone right.

This providence was not an Elementalist hating one. Still, they were not entirely comfortable to the prospect of having them still there. They had thanked them for their help, although a bit tentatively as it was never good to let it get around everywhere that you were an Elementalist lover. Some people really couldn't stand for that.

So they were taking a brief rest before heading out again. Sakura had perched herself on the edge of a traveling cart. Next to her was a resting Rika. Both had their injuries to speak of, and Sakura eyes trailed to her bandaged hands. It was not a very pretty sight.

She looked to Rika then who had her eyes closed and seemed to be thinking herself. The girl, she had found out some time ago, was two years older than her. They were still relatively close being roommates, but nothing near Tomoyo and her. That was fine as Rika had taken to her childhood friends that had joined the program too. They were a quartet that Sakura had so far hadn't much time interacting with but would like to. They made for an interesting group, those four.

Now, however, she deemed it would be alright to ask her a question that had been plaguing her mind since last night.

"Um, Rika…" Sakura tilted her head to look down at the ground. "I have a question for you. Maybe you can answer it." She took to stirring her exotic drink, courtesy of the town which had drastically calmed down. No more random fires had been springing up as of this next day.

"Go ahead, Sakura. I'll try my best," was the soft reply. Both girls were tired. Sakura took a deep breath.

"How do you choose who to save when you can't save everyone?" Sakura was acting diffident for the first time in a while. Rika hesitated and took a shaky breath. Most had been with the same question the night prior.

"That's… that's something you're going to have to find out for yourself. There's no real answer to that."

**From here on out, every chapter looks like it will have some "action" if that's what you'd like to call it. The updates are kind of slow, I admit, but I'm trying to get ahead in the writing so I'll have some back-up chapters when the amazingly busy school year comes by again. **

**I have also re-written my lost notes for this story's first side fic, thanks to my semi-reliable memory. It will probably pop up when I have gotten to chapter ten in this story because the first "chapter", runs in correspondence with chapter ten. **

**Thank you to the reviewers too. I loved every word you wrote. If you can, please tell me what you thought of this chapter too. It's that friendly-looking purple button right down there.**


	7. Chance

_**Elemental Aeon  
**__Kesshou Uryou_

**Act II  
****Chapter VII  
****Chance**

"Don't get too cocky," was the warning heard one too many times.

"I know." Syaoran could only endure so much.

"Make sure you're always listening to what's being said."

"I know."

"Don't talk to stray Elementalists."

"I know."

"Don't forget-"

"I know." Sakura's face fell.

"I didn't even finish what I was saying!" Sakura was in the middle of listing all the cautions she could think of, speaking passionately and indignantly at the same time. Something he found only she could do so well. Still, Syaoran was left with nothing to do but frown.

"Just because you've been on _one_ route, you think you know so much more than me? I'm not stupid. I won't make the same mistake twice."

Sakura leaned in close, staring intensely, blinking determinedly. Her bangs fell slightly into her line of vision at the motion, but not bothering to move them, she held the gaze steadfast. That is, until Syaoran took somewhat of an offense and couldn't take it anymore.

"W-what are you doing?" Sakura screwed up the left corner of her mouth, apparently thinking hard. Finally she sighed, hands at her hips after she had stood to full height and destroyed the close proximity. Still studying him, however, she tilted her head to the side.

"Checking for lies." She gave a satisfying nod and then a warm and small smile. "You're all clear."

"Like I would lie." Sakura shot him a momentary look that clearly dictated a sarcastic 'yeah right.' And sarcasm, as it must be noted, was something that could be termed a rarity with her. Before he could get a chance to comment back though, she was suddenly not where she had been a moment before.

Instead she had a tight hold on him, enveloping in a hug he hadn't been expecting. She gave a small whisper, not necessary out of the center of things as they were. "Good luck."

Then Syaoran came back to reality and pushed her away just as she was letting go. He took a quick look around and sighed in relief. No one was looking. "Don't do that. Someone might actually see!"

She saw how red his face was and mistook it as typically she would. She laughed. "You don't have to be so embarrassed. Or angry." Syaoran was glad for her obliviousness, but it didn't stop him from commenting.

"You're so stupid." She knew he was teasing, waving the bait right in front of her face and yet she still took it blindly.

"Hey! Just because I'm not afraid of affection," Syaoran nearly choked before recovering, "Doesn't mean I'm stupid. I'm even doing fine in math studies on my own now."

Twelve years of age was a standard and normal one to reach Trainee level. Regardless of it had been obtained or not, class lessons were dropped. Self-teaching was established as the norm with optional help if needed. Trainee level brought group lessons with the respective and actual Elemental-sensei for the first time in group sessions. Thus things were still balanced time wise for Sakura although she had to make sure to keep passing the marker tests to allow her to continue advancing in her elemental training.

"We'll see how long that lasts." Sakura knew Syaoran well enough to know that what he was saying was not to be taken to heart. He could just get like this. Irritating as it was, she had to put up with it. Of course, that said nothing about countering back. She knew how to get him annoyed. Sometimes he was too predictable for his own good, and he didn't even know it. Well, he'd refused to admit it if she mentioned it anyway. So really, there was no purpose in pointing it out in the first place.

"Syaoran-chan, don't get so riled up. I think it's time for you to leave so you have to be on your best behavior. Okay?" Her innocent grin really was innocent in a sense, making it blatantly unfair to poor Syaoran. Still, there was dignity to be saved.

"Don't call me that!" And Sakura caved and couldn't continue tormenting him. Well, she might have tried just a bit harder if people weren't thinning out on the grounds and nearing the last bits of prepping for the trip.

She opted instead to wave her hands in front of her as if to calm him down. "Okay, okay. You win for now. You just better get going. When you get back we'll settle it for good. Because saying Li-kun is getting very boring." She threw him a pout that Syaoran was beyond responding to at this point. He turned to leave and her wave became more heartfelt this time around.

When all the commotion had died down and there were only signs left behind by the departed party, Sakura threw her hands up in mock frustration, dreading what was awaiting her. She felt a little off put by the fact that it couldn't have been another route. It had to be a day of training. The only redeeming quality of the prospect was that she'd get to work with Trainees under different elements. That, so far, had never happened before. It was all she was looking forward to. Something told her it wouldn't be very enjoyable.

--e--a--

Tomoyo didn't really care anymore if anyone happened to see her as she was. Therefore it was no surprise she was allowing her feet to drag across the floor as she made her way to her shared room. Inside would possible be her roommate, but that was too much information for her brain at the moment so she opened it, secretly hoping no one was inside. That would make falling asleep easier and reduce conversation to a nonexistent level.

She opened the door and slid in tiredly, letting a yawn escape as she realized that the older girl was indeed there and looking startled. Meilin immediately took to raising her voice a little more than necessary. Tomoyo found her headache didn't appreciate it.

"What are you doing here?" Tomoyo saw this as an outright sign she was up to nothing good. It wasn't surprising seeing how the girl had been happier lately. Something must be causing the influx of good emotions. If she wasn't so damn tired she would have sent a suspicious glance at her right away and interrogated her for all she was worth. But she was and that was the end of that fantasy. She promptly took the moment instead to flop on her bed, the clothes from that day and all.

"Sleepin'." The response was muffled by the pillow as she blindly kicked off her loose shoes. They landed with a clatter as they toppled onto the floor.

"You could have at least knocked, you know." Tomoyo was not in the mood for an irritated Meilin especially when the cause of said annoyance was something so unjust.

"I live here too. Now let me sleep." Tomoyo felt that she at least should have a chance to rest after what she had been through today. She was regretting ever requesting to be switched under rehabilitation.

It took much more effort to get into it than she would have thought. It took additional testing and paper work and running back and forth between people who didn't seem overtly concerned with her situation. Added to that were her regular medical duties along with her researching her first set of elemental data. It was too much to even think about at this point. Thankfully, she knew it would calm down soon enough. Until then she'd have to deal with being exhausted.

Meilin simply was lounged out on the floor, her back leaning against the side of her bed. She had had two books propped open at once, one on her lap, the other off to her right, for the better of the day. Late in the evening was when she had some errand or another to run for Clow so now was when she'd have to make good use of her time.

Now that she had found the book to her right, however, she was beginning to loose more and more of her free time to it. Because she had found in it something that sounded promising, something that led to topics she had never heard of before. And if she managed to find just the right leading branch off, it sounded like it actually had a high chance of working. Now she just had to find it and follow through up on it. If she was right however, it would take some notable money investment.

On top of that, Meilin was almost certain it would be a long process. Nothing seemed in her favor, but she knew it was lucky in itself to have had found the particular book and the subsequent heading submerged in its pages in the first place. She'd have to thank Tomoyo one of these days.

The girl had just so happened to have been told to read up on a case that dwindled on into information that was useful in following and related pages. Meilin thanked her curiosity again for having taken a peak at what the girl had been reading and decided to let the girl have her silence for ideal sleeping conditions. She had work to be done anyway.

--e--a--

Sakura had been right. It was not pleasant. Sakura did not usually have sneaking suspicions, but now she did, and she thought it was purposefully unpleasant, in fact. Of course that was to be expected, but she still didn't have much of a desire to be doing this. She'd rather be out there on loops across providences she'd never seen before. Even though she'd failed in saving lives out there, it was better to go and try than wait here and do nothing of real importance that she didn't want to do anyway.

Still, a little common sense told her if she did get better, next time she might not have to make the same difficult decision. She could save everyone and not have to feel so helpless. That was what she had to keep telling herself as she stood after the short briefing, words of instruction a bit lost as she stood there almost fidgeting. However, it wasn't the prospect of training that left in such a state. Actually, it was something very different. And her words of motivation died out as she became completely and utterly distracted. Not in a good way, either.

"Uh… Naoko? Did something bad happen after that?"

Apparently the regard for rules and work ethics didn't apply very well to adolescents on the verge of becoming teenagers. Sakura had unconsciously fisted her hands, leaning in with pure dread and curiosity.

The goal here was to use teamwork. Sakura had been divided up into the group already, a representation of each element made known in each separate set. Sakura liked the people and already knew them on a first name basis. Still, it might not have been the most efficient one she could have landed in.

"Oh, you know. They had to die after that, but now they're tormented souls that have never been put to rest. All they do is cause havoc here on the training grounds. Because ghosts always get _lonely_."

Sakura tried her best, but in her defense, even Naoko's glasses were flashing menacingly. Her high and shaky laugh resonated shortly in the air as she scratched her head, trying to shake off the sudden oppressing feeling. More well-known as a case of fear.

She should have gotten over this little phobia over ghosts years ago, but some things supposedly never changed no matter how much, or little, you matured. Now all she could do was attempt to convince herself that she was not as scared as she used to be. There was no need to loose her nerve in something like training from what the air Elementalist had conveyed.

"I wonder where exactly it happened. So we can avoid it," the teasing and amused voice made Sakura turn her head, rather tentatively because the speaker was reminding her again of what she was trying to forget. Not that it was working in the first place.

"Well, if you really want to know something spooky, you should all know that the very first Elementalists were cannibals, and-" Sakura once again was turning, this time eyes wide and startled. The information was digested rather quickly and she was left gulping, hanging onto every next word, until the short tale was cut off.

"Yamazaki, stop lying already!"

When it came right down to it, it was probably a little more than just sad that Sakura could so easily be ensnared by the Elementalist of earth's tales. Still, she had a saving grace in the form of Chiharu.

"But you didn't mind Naoko's story!"

"That's because hers wasn't stupid. Or a lie! It was just a fun story. But whoever heard of a cannibalistic Elementalist?"

Naoko and Sakura were reduced to blinking onlookers. The glasses bearing girl turned Sakura's way after watching the scene escalate wherein Chiharu was taking "due measures". It was common procedure. Sadly, it looked as though all traces of priority had been obscured.

"This is when they start ignoring everyone, and Rika and I usually hang out," Naoko laughed. Here was where Sakura took her liking to the girl of the same age. She was like Rika in a way, always ready with a smile, but refreshing and completely natural too. If she hadn't a knack for telling certain stories, she'd probably find that herself to be in the company of the girl more often.

"Speaking of Rika, I can't say I'm not jealous." Sakura took to pressing her fingers together, a wistful look upon her visage. Naoko's smile instantly grew larger at the occurrence she was reminded of.

"Because she's out on another route, and you're not?" Sakura frowned and nodded. "Don't you think that's it just a little understandable though? She's older and, well…" Naoko gestured with her arms as if the rest of the thought could be heard out loud in that way. It was.

"Hey! That was an accident! Who would have known faster currents would overflow the dam and make a mini-flood?" Chiharu stepped in suddenly here, a wincing Yamazaki semi-concealed by her figure.

"You still have a lot to learn then if you don't know that, Sakura. I even know that, and it's not even my element. I've learned all about each of them, especially my own: fire." Sakura secretly wondered how she say could all that and still not sound and look like she was bragging. The marvels of Chiharu at work, she supposed.

"Hey, you guys, don't forget-" Yamazaki was interrupted momentarily, nursing the side of his head all the while. Chiharu turned, fist raised threateningly, ready to do more damage it seemed.

"What did I just tell you?"

"-that we're supposed to be training." Chiharu paused for a moment, seemingly not knowing what to do for a second before only being left with the option of blinking. It turned out to be a very similar happening to Naoko's and Sakura's earlier state.

Naoko adjusted her glasses, straightening out her clothes thoughtfully. "You're right Yamazaki, we should get going. I hope we're not being timed. I don't really remember what was said," Naoko sheepishly admitted.

"We're not being timed," Sakura informed after a moment of contemplation. "We just need to clear the course." She was at least slightly happy knowing that she could retain information well even if a story got to her a little more than it rightly should. Oh right, she wasn't supposed to remind herself about that.

"Ok then, this should be easy enough. I take lead," Chiharu chimed in, arms clutched behind her back. No one seemed to want to question her claim.

"I'll take the rear," Sakura resigned herself to her fate. She didn't know why but she had the tendency to think that if she was in the back she'd be the last to be affected and have the capabilities of her own personal best reaction time. She did know that wouldn't always be the case, but she couldn't help thinking as such. Besides, this way they'd be the first to awaken and encounter the ghosts, if there were any. Not that she believed in them.

"Then Yamazaki and I will have to be the flanks." Naoko tapped the tip of her boot into the dirt, arms at her sides and ready.

Yamazaki looked like he had something to say, but with Chiharu there and shooting him a rather strong warning look, he seemed to decide against saying it. Sakura could only sigh as Chiharu turned back around smiling, already setting a rather fast pace. This time Yamazaki did speak.

"Don't you think we should go slower?" He sounded unsure of even himself so it was understandable when the stubborn Chiharu didn't heed.

"Why's th-?" The forming question turned into one of a startled yelp as Chiharu lost her footing. That was, until she realized it was because she was attempting to do the impossible. Namely, walk on air.

The ground had seemingly shifted like it had a mind of its own, leaving Chiharu several feet below the normal ground level. She leaned forward with a wince, trying to do something to soothe her lower back where she had taken the most abuse in her short lived fall.

"I suppose I had that coming," Chiharu sighed, standing on the uneven ground slowly. "Can you help me back up Yamazaki?"

Up above, Naoko was fortunate enough that Chiharu could not see her as she hid her smile with a polite cough. It was not a very convincing venture for anyone that was looking, and she would have been found out in an instant. Sakura, on the other hand, was already tense, setting about tapping the ground with her feet in the near proximity with extreme caution. Yamazaki was already making foot holdings in the ragged edge of earth.

Chiharu was climbing back up in no time despite the forming bruises and looked like she had learned her lesson. "I'll take this more seriously now." Turning to Yamazaki she dipped her head a little in embarrassment.

"Thanks. It looks like I owe you one now." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Alright you can say what you want to for today, but just today. Tomorrow it's no more lies again."

Yamazaki looked pleased then a bit crestfallen. "But they're not lies."

Chiharu waved it off with a grin, turning to the other two Elementalists. Naoko stepped forward at this indication of acknowledgment, nodding to herself. "I guess this whole place is bobby trapped or something. Elementalists must have made everything completely rigged."

Sakura looked up from her self-proclaimed task, absorbing Naoko's words with a feeling of unease. How many could there really be? If she took just one other step forward then maybe she'd be blown back ten feet. It didn't sound very pleasurable.

"Okay then. We'll all just have to be more careful then," Chiharu spoke, pumping her fist into the air in resolve and excitement. "This might actually be fun."

--e--a--

It was not that Syaoran was being insensitive; it was just that he had been _misunderstood_. Evidently orders had gone against the grain of logic. For here was where he would just say let's move on and do something of a greater cause. Instead his stubborn mind had to be caged within the limits of duties. Primarily because that's what his life was comprised of when it came right down to it.

Still momentary releases were welcomed and sought after without respite. So when the time came to voice opinions, it had came out a bit like he was snuffing the idea completely, which he was in a way, but it wasn't because he didn't care. He had just thought that there were better uses of their talent and time. It came about that his viewpoint was not of the majority, and he was left feeling particularly grumpy.

And the fact that he was freezing wasn't helping.

He didn't know when he had lost the feeling in his fingers to the cold, but it had been long before he had started making footprints in the stagnant snow. Apparently there were details that contradicted what he had thought had transpired too. He would have reasonably predicted that the small village had gotten buried by a massive snowstorm. That was all; the end of the story. The element of water was responsible.

No, it was actually an avalanche which he knew really did make sense since there were domineering mountains right behind him, but he really didn't care that the earth element had acted chaotically in the form of a small tremor.

He had tried to get a little word in edgewise. If he had to be here in the first place, he'd like to be able to choose what he was assigned to, but that had been a fantasy that was far from reality. Now he felt like a parading animal like he was. He couldn't move quickly, and he had to take small steps through the layers upon layers of snow. If it weren't for the fire manipulation on his part, his fingers still would be numb. Still, the warmth of the fire didn't manifest itself enough to keep him from shivering.

It was a cloudless night, one where you could see all the stars. And didn't they look content while he was suffering. He should have been beyond being jealous of something that was inanimate in the first place. Instead he should have learned already that in this line of work there wasn't exactly precedence to comfort. Here it was normal, even expected, for him to be standing up in the middle of the night, slowly trudging through the snow to see if anyone might be a dead icicle beneath.

That was where his main grievance with the situation arose. What was the use of this? The snow would eventually melt. The villagers would have back the bodies of their dead ones. None would be beyond recognition, namely a skeleton, by that time, especially since they were conserved as they were in the freezing temperature and environment.

So what exactly was the point of all this? He was trying to figure that out, and he was still failing. Then he was confronted with a small realization. That maybe his mild animosity for the situation was because of his own past experience that had mirrored certain points with this current one.

Only they hadn't had the luxury of a fast response. They had hoped there might be a quicker one, but it hadn't arrived. Banding together, his hometown, a larger one on the verge of a minor city, had been left to retrieve the dead. And when help had come, they did seem very much like outsiders. Not like here where they were welcomed as one of their own.

There were differences, and there were similarities. That's what kept it as the past in his mind. Something that could be related to but never to be opened up completely. Because if he was going to move forward, there wasn't time to reminisce. Still, the tinge of the sea was something he was starting to miss even after he had promised himself that he'd never enjoy it again.

"Boy! Take over for me for a minute. I'll be right back."

Syaoran watched the older teenager leave and suddenly felt more tired than he had a moment before. This would just add up to more work for him. Why wasn't this going like he had thought it would?

They had expected him to amend himself to their standards, but he was not so easily swayed. He had scraped by in allowing himself to be partially contained in other's thoughts and actions in order to get here. And all over again he wanted to ignore commands and go off on his own, doing whatever he wanted. It looked like the orders would never stop coming just like he'd never stop disagreeing.

There was something that needed to be done here. He had gotten out on his first route with countless more ensured, but it felt like he had still done nothing. How long was he going to continue like this? The feeling of accomplishing nothing was a heavy emotion to bear. He was trying his best, but he still seemed like he was being kept back. Something had to change.

And he always did have a stubborn character. He wouldn't stand by and let it be him.

--e--a--

Once again, Sakura had lost her footing. The act of trying to shield herself from the gust of air was probably futile as her arms couldn't very well block all the air sent in her direction but she still did.

Her eyes had already been irritated enough by the particles that had flown into her startled eyes. So with them now narrowed to the smallest squint she could manage, she had to shift her weight to the side where she wouldn't be in the direct line of the element.

Up ahead, Chiharu was still leading, surprisingly not the most harassed at this point. No, it seemed all of them had been equally targeted, whether from the front, back, or sides. The course took no favorites. All four of them were now endangered of being knocked off their feet. Sakura just was lucky enough to be the one nearest the strongest part and source of the air current.

But now it was Naoko who was the prioritized and unlucky victim. Unbeknownst to her, the ground beneath her feet was no longer earth itself. Rounding the top of a rugged rock, she hadn't expected the next bit of ground to suddenly be ice. She was already sliding down the steep hill, tumbling off the winding path and into the woods.

Sakura still couldn't see too well; the wind had not stopped and Naoko hadn't had the chance to do anything about it. So hoping her aim would be fine without full sight, she tried melting the crystallized element. She instantly heard a brutal collision that didn't stop altogether very quickly.

Where credit was due, Naoko did return fast considering the circumstances. However, she didn't look all that well. Sakura instantly felt like what she had done hadn't been the best idea. Naoko's soaked attire, scraps and cuts, and that ugly splash of blood on Naoko's forehead told volumes. It came back and hit Sakura hard. That was right; the landscape was dotted with rocks. To make the situation brighter, one of Naoko's lenses of her glasses was broken.

"I was just going to slow myself down to a stop with a little wind," Naoko informed, sounding every bit as beat up as she looked.

Sakura, being usually hesitant in the field, saw that when she had acted fast, it was not with positive results. And suddenly when Naoko, with some recognized effort, canceled out the wind that had been keeping her unsteady on her own feet, Sakura was falling over herself to apologize.

"Ah, Naoko, I'm so sorry! I swear I'll buy you new glasses. I don't have much right now, but I've saved a little, and I promise that I'll get them as-"

"It's alright. Just keeping moving." Naoko was actually very depressed at losing her favorite pair, but she did have a back-up and here wasn't the best of places to be having this conversation.

"I mean it though! I'm so sorry. It won't-" Sakura had become incapable of finishing a sentence, this time courtesy of Chiharu.

"She said it was okay. You can talk about this later." She had turned, Yamazaki slowing down to a very slow walk until he was right next to her.

"I don't think we should just be standing here. It's probably not a good idea…" he sounded slightly worried, but then perked up. "We're easier prey for the ghosts if we stand still. They go for the slow and sluggish ones first because they're the easiest to grab." Chiharu's eye almost twitched.

Sakura took a step back, telling herself it was from Chiharu's angry face and not the prospect of ghosts. She almost wished that Chiharu hadn't allowed Yamazaki to go off on all tangents on today of all days. Other days she could at least avoid him when he got like this…

"Just wait until tomorrow." Chiharu looked like she was regretting it too.

The sudden appearance of a line of fire cutting right between Naoko and Sakura, however, was the distraction needed to get the fire Elementalist into action. With a small cry she backtracked closer to the impediment, dispersing the fast moving obstacle out of everyone's vicinity.

Naoko breathed a very audible sigh of relief. Sakura was just cursing her luck. Earth, air, water, fire. Would it ever end? Then it clicked. And she couldn't believe how none of them had noticed something so obvious. Maybe because their attention was focused on simply making it through rather than closely observing what exactly was befalling them. That and they all overlapped one another.

Chiharu was already on her way, Yamazaki and Naoko trailing behind, leaving her at the end of their imperfect straight line. Naoko was looking back at her through the one good lens in wonder at was taking Sakura so long.

"It's a pattern." Everyone turned around curiously at the sudden statement. Chiharu was the first to react.

"What are you talking about?" A sudden smile broke out on Sakura's face.

"It _always_ goes earth, air, water, fire. It never changes."

Naoko seemed to consider it for a moment before realizing that it was indeed true. The remaining two reached the conclusion a little slower, thinking through their words out loud.

"So then next it would have to be…" Chiharu spoke, finger to her temples, trying to remember what came next after fire.

"Earth. Good job Sakura. I see the ghosts haven't possessed you yet." Sakura nodded, beamed, and then looked very worried. All in that order.

"They can do that too?" Chiharu sighed. Naoko laughed lightly.

"No, no, Sakura. Don't listen to him." Chiharu instantly turned sternly to the boy who had almost perpetually closed eyes, which was a marvel even to her. "And you. You just get ready."

He didn't need to be told twice. Even Chiharu had to admit that he looked more serious, that is, if that was even possible. "You can lead then," Chiharu resigned her proclaimed position with a small frown, indicating with her arm in front of them all.

So it was no surprise that they were ready when a section of the path completely became unstable. Nor when Yamazaki was capable of stabilizing a small piece of it. Naoko was prepared when the strong winds returned, shortly joined by a swirling mass of mist that greatly reduced their vision. Sakura took pride in clearing it, letting Chiharu see her own target: raining embers about to burst into something much more dangerous.

Sakura couldn't stop her smile, noticing their pace was faster now. And now, after a couple hours of the wearisome training, the end of the course could be seen. Chiharu spotted it first, taking the lead again, everyone more than happy to be getting out. A few more obstacles were cleared, and they were home free.

She instantly dove for the ground, lying peacefully in the grass and up at the clouds and at the other three, wrapped up in their own respective methods of rejoicing. And she felt that maybe she had been wrong. They did make a good team.

**The result of a lacking chapter summary with no unwritten ideas floating around in my head.** **Still, it got its job done. Those three that were supposed to pop up in chapter five were just the added bonus. Funny how things never work out just right no matter how much you plan.**

**For next time, however, the chapter is titled Encounter. And also it's the end of Act II. It may seem like it's kind of sudden, but I think you'll see why it ends there. At which point I'll be gleefully celebrating. As I should. Act III is the longest act chapter wise although admittedly not that long. I'm already working on the first troublesome chapter of it, so you can see I've made good on my promise of getting ahead before the school year begins. This way, I really think I can guarantee at least once a month updates.**

**Anyway, please tell me your thoughts again or even for the first time. I'm looking forward to reading them (and replying) if you'd do the honors first.**


	8. Encounter

_**Elemental Aeon  
**Kesshou Uryou_

**Act II  
Chapter VIII  
Encounter**

Somewhere between the lines lay the answer to all his problems. There was always supposed to be another solution, one where you didn't have to think so much and it just came naturally to you. All you had to do was take a step back and look at the big picture. Then just wait for the pieces of the puzzle to come together.

Well, Syaoran had attempted the process. He had gotten fed up before any ideas had made itself known to him. The pieces hadn't wanted to converge to give him an all-knowing understanding of the matter. So he was forced to take orders as always, sometimes on the verge of him crossing the line he had established for himself and was expected by others to uphold. It hadn't actually crossed it since it had first held him back, but he was always dangerously teetering on the verge of it. That was just the way he was, and he had accepted it.

Still, he was prone to other disappointments that he was just now grudgingly recognizing. Life on the road was definitely not as exciting as he had once envisioned, for instance. Another was that he would never live up to his mother's expectations. The list could go on. In fact, it did.

One thing he was not sure how he felt about, however, was that Sakura had become his living shadow.

It was nice to have assured company, but Syaoran liked to partake into the depths of solitude more than the average person. She seemed to not know the meaning of the word at all, however, and seemingly refused to take the hints that were constantly thrown her way. She was there now, right beside him and rhythmically hitting the wood beneath her with her right foot. The other leg was held captive by her own arms, chin resting atop her knee.

It was not everyday you saw her so serious, but he had noticed that she did often get so after a planned or impromptu stop came at a place in need. She'd lose herself to the world for a while, then come back ready and eager to start her one-sided question game. One that apparently entailed her putting all her effort into it. A walking entity of endless questions, she was like that. He almost believed it too.

For now she was introspective, though, which meant that he should be savoring the moment. But instead he was distracted by the mingling of their fellow Elementalists and the village residents. They were friendly enough. Still, looking at their interactions made him want to just turn around and head home.

He wondered how far along reconstruction was or if they had at some point in time moved onto another location. When was the last time he had contacted her, anyway? No doubt his mother had not too long ago, but these types of conversations were not the ones that usually took center stage during their minimal meetings. They probably both rather not discuss it with each other. Still, it was always there, the curiosity that is, of what had transpired. Maybe he'd write a letter when he got home, then.

"Missing home too?" He was startled out of his thoughts by the girl. She had fully turned her head away from their limited visible surroundings to him.

Syaoran leaned back, his arms behind him to balance as he broke eye contact to further examine the happenings. "What makes you say that?"

"Because there's this look on your face." He threw her a questioning glance that Sakura understood. He was actually a little surprised. She wasn't exactly the best at interpreting anything whether it was a facial expression or not. "I think I look a little like that when I think about home too." Her explanation was presented as if it would explain everything. It pretty much did.

"You know, I don't know about your home at all. You've seen mine… well, what was left of it, but I'm curious. What's it like?" Sakura inquired, but she knew it was a request he may just deny her of. And for a while, it seemed liked he had.

"The sea," was what he finally answered her with.

"Sea?" She wasn't following.

"It's a seaside town." That only brought more questions to fill her restless wonderings. He sensed it and suddenly felt very drained of what had been left of his energy.

"The sea..." She got an inquisitive, excited look and her eyes became wide with the childish delight she had never really grown out of. Her mouth was already gaping, lips curved to start forming words, but then her shoulders drooped slightly She turned to study him then sighed. "Don't want to talk about it?"

So maybe he was a bit more transparent then he had thought. He realizing the possibility of it, however, only left him grouchy. "Please."

--e--a--

Nothing had changed. He shouldn't have expected it to. After all, routes didn't end in a week. They usually lasted for a month or sometimes even longer as they went from one location to the next. He had accepted the fact that this one of the larger ones, entailing Elementalists from all four varieties. That only meant it was a longer time away from home. Not that he minded that much.

Still, Sakura's company was almost as dependable as the elements wrecking havoc. Which, was to say, a lot. And here they were, in a town, stocking up and pretending they weren't Elementalists in the first place.

"So did you fish?" Sakura was again the disturbing, disrupting factor as they ate. He had opted for the safe and recognizable food choice. She was partaking in some foreign and mangled-like delicacy. She was unfazed by it, unlike he who could barely look at it.

"What?" It was also noted that she was eating quickly, stuffing herself. He, of course, was set at a much slower pace as they sat on the porch of the small store where they had purchased their meals. Food rations could get very bland, very fast.

"Well, you said you lived in a seaside town. What did you do? Fish?" She looked innocent enough, cocking her head to the side and chewing. She could only see him out of the corner of her eye from this position, but she did just that and watched his face take on an incredulous expression. Then she laughed, followed by realizing that it wasn't such a good idea as she began chocking.

Syaoran had to come to her rescue, hitting her across the back until she could breathe again. "I told you that thing could kill you." She only laughed again at this, thanking him politely before she lost the ability to speak altogether. "And what's so funny?"

"I just realized it was a very stupid question. Your family might have done it for a living or something, but there's no way you would have ever done it." He didn't know why, but somehow he felt he should be offended. He instead raised an eyebrow. She wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeved arm. "You have absolutely no patience."

"Why does everyone keep saying that? Mother and Meilin tell me that enough. I don't need to hear it from you." Sakura took sympathy over his frown, but couldn't bare to stop her smile even if it seemed a little rude. It wasn't like he didn't have his own moments where he'd take every chance to irk her.

"They say it because it's true." A pause, and then, "But sorry. I shouldn't rub it in your face so much. We all have our faults. If it makes you feel any better, Meilin doesn't either. Have any patience, I mean."

"You don't have to tell me that. You saw what she's been like lately." It was true. Meilin had apparently decided, for the most part, that human interaction was not a necessary part of life anymore. She was almost always to be found locked up in her room. When she's not, she's doing some errand for Clow or was in the process of getting more books. She had long ago gotten to the point that she was sneaking them out to avoid the maximum three books at a time lending rule. No matter what, however, she managed to get her hands on the supposed all-important next reading source.

Reading was becoming the bane of her existence. Syaoran was actually a little worried about what had happened to the old Meilin. The one from before she had started growing up a little too fast. She just read, trying to achieve and finish whatever the hell she had become indulged in. It had to be assumed there was no patience on her part. Only she was prone to frustration very easily, and she was apparently not making much progress in what she was trying to accomplish.

Sakura had a comment back on the real subject on hand. In fact, she had several. Still, she instead took a small bite of her questionable meal and looked skyward at the cloudless stretch of blue. She opened her mouth then closed it. Finally, she decided on what she wanted to say and how to say it.

"The only reason I asked was because I really don't know you that well when I think about it. So I started wondering where you came from and what it was like there. But I think you just don't like talking about it."

Syaoran himself had to think about what to say. What she had said would explain her constant presence since they had left. Actually, he felt a little bit guilty at being sort of difficult about the matter. But she didn't need to know that. And just as he had formulated the correct answer in his mind, she spoke again.

"Ah, look! You're about to drop it." Her head was bowed with a look of juvenile determination playing across her face as she pointed at the offending object: his half-eaten meal. Instinctively he tightened his hands around it, his own sigh of relief blending with her own.

"You should be more careful, Syaoran." He nodded absentmindedly like he had heard the words a million times before. That was, until it registered in his mind. She looked at him from her profile standpoint looking more mischievous than he had seen her in a long time with a look of self-satisfaction.

"You can argue all you want. I'm not taking no as an answer. This is what you get if you're not going to talk." Syaoran almost knew better than to complain. But he didn't. And she didn't expect him to.

In the end, though, she won. He almost always let her win. Even when he really didn't want her to. This just happened to be one of those times.

--e--a--

"I hope this is the last trip for the supplies." Syaoran knew it was Sakura that had spoken, but he was incapable of actually seeing her speak at the moment. The stack of boxes she was carrying completely obstructed her upper body from view. He, on the other hand, was stuck with sack after sack. He was ready to keel over himself.

Melin's words about being Elementalist almost seemed to come true at moments like these. It really could be a very unglamorous life.

"It better be." He had promised that he'd walk ahead of her, clearing a path so she wouldn't stumble into perfect strangers along the way back. Now, however, he was regretting it a bit. She was walking at a very noticeably slower pace and his back was killing him. He just wanted to dump these things off and be done with it. Instead he was stuck traveling at the pace of a sickly old man. Actually, from the looks of things, one right over there was passing them. Needless to say, all his patience was sapped.

"Can you hurry up just a little?" He craned his neck backwards, making good of the sentiment that her face was fully hidden from his view.

"I don't want to topple over and lose my balance. You've already called me a klutz enough for one lifetime." Well, it was true, and Syaoran couldn't deny it. Still, they really were going too slow.

"But just a little faster." She made a non-affirmative noise. "C'mon, old people are looking fast." He knew she'd probably be laughing by now, but she wasn't. For some reason, she left a bit of tension in the air. She sounded very dead beat when she spoke again.

"Fine, fine." He breathed a sigh of relief. "On one condition." He should have known. He didn't need to look at her to know she was now smiling.

She was going to tease him. He was sure. "Say my name." He was right. He'd give no fulfillment to her request.

"It's just one little word." Now she sounded serious, and he was glad he couldn't see her face. He knew from experience she'd have that face on that he couldn't say no to. But just thinking about that, made it easier to cave. It only took a few more pleads before he consented

"…Sakura." Still, he wouldn't give her the privilege of hearing him saying it in a happy tone. He prided himself over the fact that he sounded like the undead.

Unfortunately, it didn't faze her. She was pleased. "See? That wasn't so hard." And suddenly she was much faster. She was quickly on the verge of passing him, seemingly uncaring towards the fact that she couldn't really see where she was going. Then it clicked.

"You planned that from the beginning, didn't you?" His tone sounded more confused than accusatory, much to his displeasure. He corrected it in his less intelligent follow-up question. "Right?"

"What are you talking about?" She had that grin that meant she was up to something. She wasn't even trying to hide it as she turned around to let him see her face perfectly.

"Stop acting like you don't know," he shot back before he could comprehend what he was saying. It didn't matter. There were no other words he would have said in replace of those.

She had a very silly grin on. It didn't quite match her words, and it left him staring at her back as she jostled past those threatening to make her drop her assortment of supplies. "I have my moments."

He actually found that it seemed he had more trouble from dropping his temporary cargo than she did, which was simply not right. His next words were filled with light spite. "Tomoyo and Meilin are a bad mix of role models."

She was only a reasonably small distance away from where they were supposed to unload the items in their possession when she stopped dead in her tracks. The people parted around her, and he was left staring and jealous. She wasn't even trying, and everyone was now crashing into him as he stumbled in keeping his load from falling all across the busy market's ground. Everything would surely get crushed if that happened.

"Hmm? Did you say something Syaoran?" It sounded too innocent to be real, but she made it work.

"Forget it." He couldn't resist the temptation as to roll his eyes. It was too appealing. She believed him, or at least she pretended to, as she closed the remaining gap and set down what she had carried over through the crowd.

He followed suit, relieved when they were told that that was all they were needed to do, and they would be leaving within an hour now. Sakura looked as glad as he felt, and instantly took a seat upon one of the precariously stacked crates. From up their, she was easily able to literally look down at him.

That of course, made him feel a little more insignificant than he would have liked. He was left with the one option of climbing up after her. Sakura wasn't surprised he had followed and took up the occupation of swinging her feet back and forth. Syaoran thought it was only smart to warn her of the impending consequences of doing so.

She slowed down a bit, but she didn't altogether stop. No, her mind seemed elsewhere.

"I've been thinking." Syaoran himself thought that she'd been doing that a little too much lately where it wasn't needed. When she ever did consider a topic, it usually granted her full attention. And as far as he knew, it was mainly focused over at him as of late.

"And?" He knew he would regret later, but her statement called for some sort of reply.

"Tomoyo said she thought that you and Meilin knew each other before you two joined the program. Well, you joined. Meilin kind of snuck on, didn't she? Because we had to hide her until we got here." So Tomoyo, ever the observant individual, had spoken to her best friend. It didn't sound criminal, but its implications did.

"Yeah, she did try. That didn't work out so well." Sakura pouted, chin in her right hand in getting her message of frustration across.

"That wasn't really what I was asking."

"You ask too many questions."

"Only because you never tell me anything." She sounded defensive and yet, at the same time, demanding. He had no idea how she pulled it off. With this in mind, he kept silent, moving his arms behind his head as he looked at the merchants doing what they did best.

"Well…?" Syaoran almost smirked triumphantly. She sounded unsure of herself now. Then she recovered, which halted the silent and inner victory dance. "Say something!"

"What do you want me to say?"

Sakura felt like she was attempting to persuade a bull to do her bidding. "Tell me if Tomoyo's right." He still said nothing, which made her look away and adjusted her voice for what she hoped would make him take the bait. "I guess she's right. I had to work so hard to get you to let me call you Syaoran-"

"More like force me."

"-and then for you to call me by my first name-"

"_Tricked _me."

"-so I can't help but agree with Tomoyo. You two definitely knew each other before." Correcting her when all he could see was her turned back was oddly dissatisfying. And now that she had finished, it was more than expected that he'd have to say something back.

"So what if we did? It's not like we're trying to hide it anyway. Well, actually Meilin did say something about not telling people, but you already figured it out anyway." He was glad the option of eye contact had been eliminated. However, it was back in full force as she whipped around, pointer finger in his face in her act of glee.

"Ah hah! You admitted it." Syaoran frowned, a little uncomfortable at how close she was, but it hid well under his lackluster, unaffected face. Sakura smile drooped, looking away and leaning back. "Hmm… wasn't as fun as I thought it would be to get you to say it."

"You make it sound like I'm just some kind of game." She laughed at that, rocking back and forth in what became a little too much motion. Her newly-found worries culminated into a small yelp before Syaoran got a hold of her upper arm. Still, the damage was done.

"Good thing you're not. It would be a really boring and long one." She glanced down at the few crates that had fallen and split open. Thankfully food wasn't among their contents, and nothing looked damaged. She slid down to the ground cautiously, already at work to amend her mistake. "But thanks anyway. It would have been worse if you hadn't helped me out." She smiled up at him until he had to look away, face reddening until he remembered her previous comment.

He lowered himself down too, helping her restack what had been affected by her hasty action. "You're more trouble than you're worth. You insult me and I have to save you from being a klutz at the next second."

Her cheeks puffed out indignantly at his words, and he actually couldn't stop the earnest smile at seeing her like that. Then she took a calming and deep breath and slowly let another smile settle across her lips. Syaoran's eyes were everywhere else once again.

"I guess I had that coming." Syaoran had no argument there. "But still it was worth it. I'm going to find out how you tick, mark my words." Unfortunately, Syaoran was a little worried she really would. Then he realized he didn't even know why that was such a devastating thing in the first place. He supposed it was just his nature to be secluded and defensive.

--e--a--

They had heard about them. It was impossible to not have. They just had never seen them before. And for some reason, both had never expected to.

It was probably mostly because of the fact that both Sakura and Syaoran were admittedly new to this form of travel they had just been introduced to. Another contributing factor was they'd never been on such long routes, which only could increase the chances of stumbling into these people. And stumble into them they did.

Not literally, of course.

Fate had also conspired to make their passage intersect with Clow's own, much smaller one. So here he stepped forward to take control of the situation. Sakura stood off, retreating from the thick crowd that was too dispersing. She had no idea whether or not it was normal for two parties to confront each other or not, but here it had happened and she quickly sought out Syaoran to see what he thought of the matter.

He was not hard to spot out. He had a tendency to remain where it wasn't packed by people. She approached him, grabbing at his left arm and leaning toward where Clow stood and was preparing to talk with the other party.

"You think they do this a lot?" Syaoran would have complained when she set her chin to rest on his shoulder, but he was already distracted. He was trying to figure out if there was anyway to get out of keeping post back at their brief settlement. Once again, he didn't have the tolerance to put up with what he didn't agree with. Sakura had already tried to sympathize with him, but had ultimately failed. She called it luck, but the fact remained that she was doing something, and he, on the other hand, would be doing nothing.

"I don't know." Sakura fought back the frown at his reply with a complete lack of enthusiasm. She would have had another go at cheering him up, however slightly, but she was interrupted from someone speaking behind them.

"They usually do. They can't ignore the plain truth that the other exists." Sakura twirled around, wisely letting go of Syaoran to not drag him along in her motion. Upon recognition, she offered a slight dip of her head.

"Hello Hiirigizawa-san." He acknowledged her with the inclination of his head, offering a raised hand in greeting.

"Kinomoto-san, Li-san." Sakura was actually mildly surprised he remembered their names. They had only been introduced before when he, tagging along with Clow, had met up with them. Still, she was diverted from this by returning her thoughts back to where Clow stood. Syaoran, on the other hand, was not, being already agitated by the presence of Clow's apprentice. It was something he himself could not justify.

"I bet you're really used to this then, huh?" Sakura queried, playing up the part of the oblivious bystander to Syaoran's somewhat annoyance. No need to spur conversation with the newcomer any further.

"I should hope by now that I would be. You see there. Do you know who that is?" He offered a finger in the right direction, and Sakura bit her lip in thought. Syaoran took a reluctant turn of his head in the correct spot, discontent clearly marring his features. He figured the dislike on his part had something to do with the other's smile. It just didn't fit.

However, they both considered the question for a moment. Those other there had long been dubbed stray Elementalists by themselves, but they often weren't. When they were, they usually traveled alone or in small groups, typically making profit off of their "gift" where they were welcomed.

These people however were not a few in number. But at the same time, they did not nearly meet their larger numbers. They seemed a closer knit and a smaller workable group of Elementalists, traveling by two concise, canvassed wagons.

Sakura eyes squinted to get a better glance at the apparent leader of the stranger's group. Syaoran tried to remain disinterested, but even his curiosity took over. Sakura eventually whipped her head back around, ready to speak.

"To tell you the truth, we've never seen other Elementalists." She exchanged a look with Syaoran and another glimpse at the strangers. "We've heard about them, but there's no way we'd know who that is. Right Syaoran?" The question at the end was to clarify that he knew nothing more on the matter than she had. He nodded in response, eyes back to the scene of interest.

"Really? Then you must have recently started out in your travels. There are many people on the road too although you might not recognize them as Elementalists. Several times you'll confront groups though." Eriol was talking from experience, and they could tell. He came to stand beside them, to Sakura's left to Syaoran's relief. Basically this meant that he'd be blocked out of sight by the girl standing between them.

"That woman there is a leader of a more well-known group of Elementalists. It's nothing as huge as ours, but it has its advantages if you're looking at it that way." Sakura cocked her head to look at Syaoran before they both looked on in renewed interest. Somehow, Syaoran was suddenly the one who was more interested in the matter.

--e--a--

"Clow Reed." She stood at full height, an adamant small frown pulling at the corner of her lips. Being known for a bit of a haughty and stubborn streak suited her now as it always did, but she offered her hand in well-meaning. It was her sign of acknowledgment where she thought it was deserved not to mention that it could be considered downright disrespectful and to do otherwise for certain reasons.

Clow took her outstretched and upturned palm in good-natured handshake, a small smile gracing his lips. "Madoushi."

The inevitable reaction was her letting go, and the hint of a smile as her arm went slack by her side. However, there was no erasing the disconcerted look that haunted her face.

"It's been a while, mhm? Still keeping up your far-fetched set of ideals, I see. And being unwanted and fierce competition while you're at it. You're never going to change are you?"

"Neither are you." She matched his look with the opposite kind: an uneasy one. She then momentarily lost her troubling emotions and chose to concede to his statement.

"Very true. Anyway, we could catch up, but I think you'd rather get back to your little followers over there. I have things to attend to as well." She appeared to be ready to brush him off and close the conversation completely, but it was not over yet. Clow had a few more words to spare.

"That's right. It is always interesting when we cross paths. We never fail to compete for the commission, and I doubt this time will be any different." He let her interpret it as she would, and she took the opportunity to do so.

"Is that a challenge? You may have beaten me out of it last time, but it won't happen again. Quality over _quantity_. You should remember that. I don't need little sacrifices to parade around for me to prove anything." Her eyes had hardened, tongue rolling off her words passionately. Clow folded his arms in a slow deliberate and seemingly perfectly calculated motion as if each blink of an eye had been long since planned.

"You're mistaken if you think that. This is just how the path has been set. And you yourself should remember I have both quality and quantity."

Madoushi was shaking her head as if the thought was almost laughable. "You've known what I've thought for a long time. I don't agree with your methods." Clow looked like he was about to interject, but she plowed on. "Then again, I admit my own methods offer no real solution as of yet. But I know someday this will end. I only need to find out where and how." This time he did he did verbalize what he wanted to convey as she panned off.

"The future is unclear for a reason. You best realize that and do something about it now." Madoushi looked like she understood where his words were coming from, but an obstinate nature and contradicting standpoint were all she needed to disagree.

"If that translates to me having to use your methods, then you should have never opened your mouth. It isn't intentional, I know, but you can't change the truth. What you do is sick and disgusting, and I want no part of it."

--e--a--

Syaoran had learned of some rarer conversed details from Eriol although accepting the information from him was a bit unsatisfying. He made it clear he took it grudgingly to which Eriol only had a smile for in response.

The plan had to be stake this place out as it was a rather prime target recently for absolutely any elemental devastation. Eriol had said that the money they received for their work on duty was from what individual towns and villages paid.

Sakura had taken the news a little depressingly. She had not seemed prepared for what Syaoran had suspected for a long time. Sakura relayed that Meilin had said Elementalist hatred had started with Elementalists becoming known as money grubbers due to getting their payment with completion of their assigned task or not. Therefore, the realization that they were really no better left her a little off put.

To that, Eriol had a few words. "Clow has left everyone a bit ignorant." Syaoran did a double take at the smiling youth at that, but the apprentice kept face like nothing had transpired. Syaoran knew well that he was only a year older than both of them, but he spoke like he knew more than he should whether it be by standards of age or anything else.

Sakura blinked at the previous circumstance but left it at that, eager to get more answers on things that she was unsure of or had no clue about.

Eriol had eventually excused himself much to Sakura's disappointment and to Syaoran's relief. The departing young teen met up with Clow as he was finishing his conversation with someone by the name of Madoushi. It apparently hadn't ended on the best of notes, but Syaoran supposed that was to be expected. If what Eriol had been right, they were competing for the funds for their lifestyles.

All that had taken place two days ago. Over the time, curiosity was once again what had caused him to keep a keen eye on the other Elementalists. They definitely operated differently. Words exchanged in terms of apparent commands seemed to flow and things were spoken in a less practical, more personalized manner.

Syaoran had had a long time observe. Sakura took up his free time when she was around, but usually she was somewhere in town, absorbing the new experiences like a sponge did water. Otherwise, Syaoran spent his time idle, knowing that if something happened where they had settled, he'd surely know by some sign of impending danger. There was nothing now and so he watched.

And the more he watched, the more he had to wonder. He really did wonder.

--e--a--

Sakura was exuberant. And when she was, there usually was only one solution. She had to talk about it. And talk about it, she intended to do. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that maybe Syaoran wasn't the best one to relate the events to. After all, he had been upset that he hadn't come along. But he was the only one here that she knew well enough to deem a friend, which automatically made him the target of her rant of success.

She was surprised, however, when he wasn't where he usually took up his spot, waiting out time in his usual thoughtful mood that she'd have arouse him from. No, he wasn't there at all now, to be reawakened to reality or not. So she immediately set out to find him as any curious and growing concerned friend rightly should.

The search lasted longer than she had expected, and it certainly had ended where she hadn't thought it would. She approached tentatively, the questions already easy to be seen written across her face.

"Syaoran?" He turned around, his expression almost like one having been caught in the midst of some childish act of misbehavior before his attitude changed to one with resolve with a hint of an apologetic tone. She only had more questions at that. "What are you doing?"

"I'm pretty sure you can tell, Sakura." She shook her head feeling a little lightheaded.

"I don't understand." Syaoran sometimes had a problem with meeting her eyes, but this time it was for an entirely different reason.

"I heard that everyone's heading out of town." She nodded her agreement at his words, slowly. It was true. That was what she had been told after the mild disaster. She herself was happy, but she was lost as to why many of the Apprentices were somber and some were even crying. She herself was happy. It was time for the Elementalists to find another habituation for a source of income. Time to leave this place. But something wasn't quite right here.

"So I guess we'll be going then," he continued on. Sakura knew. She probably knew from the first glimpse of him standing there, but this was the moment it finally sunk in.

"You're kidding." She didn't know why, but she suddenly felt like crying. Syaoran looked a little torn, but she knew him. His mind had been made up, and that meant there was no changing it now.

"Bye, Sakura."

No prompts, no tricks, no teasing. She had hoped she'd get him to say her name that way eventually, but she hadn't wanted to resort to this. They were already packed up, and he soon became just another shadow amongst strangers. Because that's what he had chosen to be.

She was frozen a while like that, watched them depart, eventually headed back to where she still belonged. Taking a shaky breath, she clutched her hands tight, and allowed herself to look back just once. A few tears were shed, but it was almost a rueful smile that she wore.

**_-End Act II- _**

**Time for a little insight, I suppose. Along with additional confetti for another act done! Anyway, I wanted to get a more Syaoran-centric chapter in so we'd get some more perspective on him alone. I pretty much liked how it turned out. Bits and pieces of SS interaction. Eriol appears. Clow speaks. Madoushi enters. **

**And to all who didn't see that coming there at the end… My work here is done (for now). It feels good to know that my plot really has kicked in! Soon it shall thicken, or so I hope. Check my profile which is regularly updated on my chapter stats. **

**For now, patience as school progresses is all I ask. Oh, and possibly a review. You might actually want to know what happens next now, right?  
**


	9. Distinction

_**Elemental Aeon  
**Kesshou Uryou_

**Act III  
Chapter IX  
Distinction**

Elementalists were a new breed in an aged world. Ever slowly inching towards the century old mark, they were a fresh and newly written page of history. For as long as the elements have spun out of control, there have been Elementalists. From the time that the Elemental Aeon began, there have been those who could control the phenomena.

It had been something akin to a chain reaction in essence. To maintain the unstoppable, wherein control had been completely nonexistent, life forms found a way to grasp power again. The free thinkers that lived in this world, all the people that inhabited it, had always been personal seekers of the glory and curse of power. For it was, at its truest, a double-edged sword.

Rapidly enough, an endless cycle had been crafted where the very nature of the world had ventured out to take control once and for all, possibly to extinct its captors. But life had passionately fought primitively for itself, and when that battle has passed, life was consumed by the attained power it had received in the process.

Nature slips away to chaos. Elementalists mend this if they so choose. A brief interlude of peace is interrupted by a repeat of this sequence.

Control is really such a fleeting thing.

Myth and lore have come to surround just how Elementalists came about, especially since there has not been a long length of time to understand how the unusual gift has been passed along after its essential creation. Is an infant just born with the possibility of being an Elementalist? Is it something that is capable of being passed on? And if so, how did the first ones achieve the power? Countless people must have been afflicted by the quartet of abilities for them to spread as rapidly as they did.

True, they were still a grave minority in the beginning days, but they were not something to be easily forgotten, and they have only increased as time progressed to today's time. So the question of how these people existed is one asked in high frequency.

But truly there has been no explanation either on how the Elemental Aeon sparked to life. Certainly it could not be a mere coincidence that Elementalists sprang up at the same time of the Elemental Aeon. Somehow the mysteries seem to be related, but nothing has ever surfaced to prove just how and, more importantly, why.

With the growing numbers of those who can control the elements, so does those who say their parents themselves could not. It is hard to tell what the direct relationship really is, as Elementalists are only in their third, or in some cases, fourth generation. And due to this chaotic world, first generation, eighty-some odd year old Elementalists are dropping fast and so do their stories and possible answers.

Be the real explanation as it might, one thing is certain. People and their respective world are and have always been connected with a fine and flexible thread. An overbalance on one side, affects the other. Everything involving the two has recuperations.

So it perhaps could be this world's way of getting revenge on its inhabitants or just a string of unforeseeable events, but it has happened. And there appears to be no end in sight despite the measures taken today to limit or cease the elements' advances.

**-Two Years Later-**

"Hmm?" Tomoyo slammed her book shut at that, peering up at the inquisitive Meilin. The raven haired girl was leaning over Tomoyo's shoulder, blinking nonchalantly despite Tomoyo's obvious rudeness. Meilin's hair was wet and down, parted over one shoulder. Obviously, she was back from the baths, but it seemed that it had been a rather fast trip, and Tomoyo had hardly read a peaceful chapter in her absence.

The only other thing running through her mind was that Meilin was far too good at sneaking up on people. Oh, and a little exasperation.

"Why are you always so interested in what I read anyway?" Tomoyo scrambled up tiredly from her position that was best described as chaotically spread across her bed. She placed the now closed book with the rest of her other ones, a growing mound threatening to take over a good size portion of the room. With Meilin's efforts, someone could mistake their living quarters as a library. It practically was Tomoyo mused.

"It could be something useful to know," Meilin quirked, an eyebrow raised as if she was stating the obvious. Tomoyo knew from experience that she was in a childish, almost playful, mood. Which, in other words, meant she was in good spirits.

"For whatever the hell you're up to?" It was a question Tomoyo often used in their conversations. Meilin seemed she had yet to tire of it, though.

She paused in partially drying her hair, shooting the door a thoughtful look before grinning back at Tomoyo. She abandoned her task, making quick work of blowing out all the candles still flickering in the otherwise dark room. The sun had set hours ago.

Straightening out her choice for sleepwear, she was under the covers in record time. Tomoyo was still sitting up in surprise, blinking and attempting to adjust her eyes to the newly established darkness. Before she could say anything, however, Meilin was closing off all forms of communication.

"You reminded me. I have to get up _really_ early tomorrow. So it's time to sleep now. G'night." Tomoyo slowly came to lie down, wondering if it was something to do with Clow or if it was one of her own crazy schemes that had become the cause of her actions. Meilin hated getting up early.

But, well, it did not matter much. It was hard to believe it at first, but Meilin was seventeen, practically an adult. She could handle it. And the possible consequences that might result. Tomoyo herself had to get up and do some early and critical work in the medical ward. Some extra sleep couldn't hurt.

Actually, it looked like things were working out so that tomorrow would be a rather eventful one for more than just one person.

--e--a--

He leaned forward in careful study, afraid that blinking would break the spell that had been cast or make him miss a careful motion. Each step the older man took, each movement, Syaoran absorbed like a sponge, eager and restless to try it out himself, but he could manage to sit still long enough if he could somehow manage to do it so effortlessly like that.

Wei had become something akin to a father figure to him, but then considering their ages and their off-hand relationship, it was far less complicated than one between a father and son would normally be. He opted to think of Wei as more of a grandfatherly type, and so he gladly accepted the offered help because for once pride was not on the line here.

So when the demonstration had concluded, he wasn't nervous in stepping up to try the very same execution. He had never been willing to embarrass himself in front of anyone, and he still did get aggravated when he screwed up in front of Wei too. However, it was just that he was learning to accept the fact that he couldn't be seen as a perfect Elementalist in front of everyone. Eventually the mask had to crumble and someone would be there to see what was attempted to be hidden.

Failures had to be recognized. He didn't have to like it though.

He dipped forward then quickly back up, his arms trailing as he moved and his legs shifted. He watched in mild horror at was a produced. The sparks fell to the ground, not even worth a stamp of the foot to kill them off. Their short life had only been marked by a strange fizzling sound as they flew to the earth as the rejects they were.

"You still haven't relaxed." Syaoran instantly stiffened even more at the sudden speech then went completely loose in discontentment, waiting for more words of advice. He wasn't disappointed this time.

With this second exhibition, he really did watch the quicker and closer display without blinking. Wei turned around for the follow up comments.

"Remember that fire Elementalists use flames as extensions of their bodies. It's somewhat like this for the three other elements, but it's not exactly the same. Because fire Elementalists are the only ones capable of producing their own element, it's truer for them. The other Elementalists like to think they have the same connection, but it's more their own influence in their surrounding environment than anything else." He paused to catch Syaoran's eyes, the owner of them listening closely but already moving back into position to try again, eager to attempt it once more. Wei had a few last words, though.

"So relax. Even now you're still very stiff. Remember it's an extension of you." Syaoran almost ashamedly dropped into a slouch before straitening up and nodding. He rushed forward, increasing his speed and trying to keep the recent words in mind while still concentrating. It paid off.

Just maybe not in the way he would have expected.

A burst of flames, sparks mixed in too, shot up in front of him, wildly dashing out in an array. His arm moving to shield his face accompanied his startled yelp. Nothing could stop his own shirt from catching on fire or the small rebellious fires that sprouted forth from everywhere near him.

Being a little distracted by he himself catching fire, becoming almost frantic didn't seem too unrealistic. Fortunately he saved some face value by extinguishing the fire immediately threatening himself and a quarter of the nearby remaining ones by himself. Wei efficiently cleaned up the rest of the minor damage.

"That was a total disaster." Syaoran dropped to the ground, making sure that every last ember was no longer a threat. He knew that Wei's damage control wouldn't leave a single one, but it left him feeling a little less frustrated. Well, rather the action hid his current emotion a little better.

"Still better than what you did before. Your first attempts produced either nothing or a few sparks. At least you have something started now. You can build off of that, but you can't exactly work off of nothing."

Syaoran knew it was an attempt of cheering him up, something to raise his spirits, but with chin atop a fisted hand, feeling a little more accomplished didn't seem on the agenda. Brooding was.

"It was supposed to shoot forward in a _controlled_ line. What the hell was that?" He straightened up to gesture with his arms without any extra meaning being conveyed by the motion. Syaoran became tongue tied in trying to continue.

"I didn't expect you to get it so quickly. It wouldn't make sense if you did." He blatantly ignored Syaoran's deadpanned comment about how it did make sense that it had backfired in his face. "The elements have a mind of their own, after all. To be able to control any or all of them without any trouble is a skill that doesn't come so easily. You have learned to control fire in set patterns, but it has to go beyond that if you truly want to become one of the best."

Syaoran took another look at the newly formed ashes, and there was the light scent of burnt grass in the air. "I do." He hadn't noticed until now when it was a little too quiet and that he was breathing heavily.

"We'll stop here for today. Tomorrow we'll see if you really can't do it. If not we'll only do some basic earth techniques." Syaoran whipped around, a clenched fist showing his opinions on the matter.

"I never said I couldn't do it! It's just a matter of time."

There was no time for his indignation to be fully appreciated though as Wei burst into a fit of coughs. Syaoran, knowing that this wasn't all too uncommon, raced to his side in apparent concern. There always seem to be a few loose gaps in Wei's overall health. He being aged induced further worry over him whenever he came into bouts like this one.

However, he stood up from his slightly bent over position, waving Syaoran off and walking slowly off. His mutters ran along the lines of he was fine and that he just needed some rest. Syaoran watched him walk off suspiciously, but he offered no protest in letting him go back alone. If Wei said he was fine, then he was.

He sighed, realizing he was alone once again. He picked his way through the charred ground slowly, making his way back to their camp.

Trailing his feet's progress with his eyes, he thought about his previous tries at controlling earth. The basics were generally the same between the elements, but trying to control another element all together seemed almost foreign to him after all this time he had solely focused on fire. Still, if he had the gift, he wanted to increase the results he could cultivate from it. It would just make him a better Elementalist if he knew how to work two elements at any given time.

He had been lucky to have been given a chance to train in accordance with Wei. Actually he had been lucky that the older man had existed at all. Syaoran found what he needed in a teacher, and he hoped he showed what was needed in a student.

Although, even with him being a pupil, there were actually no real guidelines to the teachings he was given. Everyone here usually just did things such as train without regulations. It seemed to be the norm to find someone here older and more skilled than you and try to convince them to teach you. Wei fortunately had no objections after Syaoran had confronted him upon seeing what the aged man could do.

Wei was a true talent with the ability to use all four elements. He was actually not nearly as gifted in the other three as he was with fire, but Syaoran had yet to find anyone else here who could make the same claim of having all four.

In fact, the leader, the willful and sometimes even cunning and sly Madoushi, was only a water Elementalist. Syaoran had been surprised upon learning this at first. Having originally come from where the leader was a renowned and balanced user of all four elements, hearing this was not what he had been expecting.

Actually there were more than a few differences between the two factions than just the singular one he joined Madoushi's group for in the first place. There were no carefully planned stops to rest at or paths specifically chosen to travel by. Things almost always seemed hastily decided, something like last minute planning.

Often Madoushi would come out into the clearing made for camp, nonchalantly waving in her hand several papers. Letters or requests, rumors or the like that she sought after through the towns they traveled through. And when finding one to her liking and specifications, they set out. That was all there was to it.

Well, that was all he heard about and saw on the matter for a while. But he was starting to traces of something else. Madoushi usually retreated from others, usually working her best craft: water. If he didn't know any better, it almost looked like she was trying to be a prophet.

Still, what his opinions over that topic had to with anything that was happening now, he didn't know. But when he arrived back at camp, it looked like he was stepping back in time. Only he wasn't; this was just how it always was. Madoushi was standing in the center of the commotion, a long rolled up parchment held firmly in her hands.

This time, however, he could have sworn that she had been the only one working on scrolls and parchment today, taking down her own notes. He hadn't been around the entire time but usually when mail was delivered, it came together with supplies and that would have taken longer to sort out. That being the case, there hadn't been enough time for all of that while he had been gone. And there were no traces of anyone else clutching notes from homes with excited or devastated faces.

So perhaps it wasn't any requests or rumors, but her own decision or idea. She seemed to be making more of those recently. And so far they had only, surprisingly, lead to strong conflict with the element at work. She either had good intuition or something else had to explain all the correct guesswork.

Now everyone was snapping around to their full attention, hurrying to pack up whatever belongings they had set out during their rest stop. It was already late afternoon and the sun had no delay in setting this time of the year. It looked like they would be doing a little bit of traveling in the dark today.

As everyone rushed him by, Syaoran self-consciously began to pick up nearby sleeping mats, not even sure of whom they had been set out by because everyone tended to share everything here. The plan had been to spend the night, but that had been easily abolished. Watching everyone else lugging supplies and materials, grinning at one another or in some kind of friendly conversation, he wondered if his reasons for getting out had been fulfilled.

He had wanted to get better having felt like he was being held back. He wanted to get away from the pressures back there and improve in a different environment. Regardless of whether this was a faster method, he liked to think that he had learned very quickly here and wasn't treated as a kid anymore. You had to lug your own weight around here, and they liked to split it evenly. No slacking off, no getting out of work.

But really, he knew that wasn't why he left. Not all the real reasons. To feel suffocated, to feel like he was losing all control, hopeless and helpless, he never wanted to feel that way again. Yet back there, everything was just the same as many, many years ago.

And despite how he hated to be reminded of it all, he couldn't stop wanting to see the ocean. He really couldn't. It annoyed him to no end because he had told himself that he wasn't supposed to ever think of it again, but he couldn't stop the tugging at the corner of his mind. And try as he might, he couldn't quite convince himself that he wanted to forget, wanted to make it all go away.

Yes, he wondered what it would be like to see the ocean again.

--e--a--

She was glad for the excuse. Her restlessness had escalated to the point she couldn't stand or sit still, and she was forced to pace around anxiously. She covered up her actions with the excuse of stretching her legs out after the short trip over here. It wasn't that far, not even close to the surrounding towns or villages around the complex. It was close enough for convenience, but far away enough for secrecy and isolation. Not to mention that the area didn't have boundaries or limitations on the use of an Elementalist's powers. Which meant that the sometimes irritating wrist guards were gone, much to Sakura's relief.

Still, Sakura had not too long ago learned how to manage the elements through other parts of the body and not just with her hands. It was easiest to work through them, and it required time and talent to make it work through any other outlet. Although she admittedly had only dabbled in it so far due to the fact it was surprisingly harder to control water without the use of the hands. Kaho-sensei had attributed it to the fact that people experienced life through their hands.

Therefore, it was only natural for manipulation to come easiest to them. They were in fact, she had said, very good at manipulating things regardless if the elements were involved. Sakura took it in like the good and gracious student she was trying to be. And Kaho-sensei's word, no matter it could be, had become law somewhere along that path.

Today was the day to put it to the test. The Water Apprentice Exam was the only thing keeping her from a very important promotion in level. That was the reason why she couldn't stand still. It was also why she was approaching the Water-sensei with just the faintest inkling of hope to get some final words of useful advice from her. On her way over, Sakura glanced to Rika who was staring at her feet, looking deep in thought. Sakura could only wish that she could look so calm.

"Kaho-sensei," Sakura greeted, with a quick and obviously nervous bow, returning to full height with her desperation to know any little bit more of what was awaiting them. "Is there any final advice you can give me?"

Kaho, herself insisting on being referred to as Kaho-sensei instead of Mizuki-sensei by her students, lowered her arms to her sides in response. Her smile was genuine and so was her apologetic expression.

"You know I can't give anything away about the test, if that's what you mean. That would be cheating. Just keep in mind what I have taught you, and you should do fine. Remember always consider the options before acting. You tend to get a little frantic when you're in the middle of the situation." Sakura lowered her head in slight embarrassment. That was no lie.

"But… are the rumors true? Is it like some kind of big maze inside?" Kaho raised her arm to stop the questions, but choose to glance at the said building before responding. Sakura turned her head to study it too.

It looked to be a decrypted, rundown, and aged building, too many cracks in the surface of the once smooth stone for it to be passed off as a decently new structure. Anyone could see the many doorways cutting into the rotunda-like or circular building. A careful eye could see how it slanted downwards as the further one's eye moved down to the center of the structure. Of course that was only from this vantage point on higher ground.

Kaho almost wanted to smirk. It looked a little intimidating from the outside, but she had had the real enjoyment in fixing up the inside for this year's Water Apprentice Exam. The chance to do something like it only came around once every other year, after all.

She turned back, her smile having never changed its appearance on her face. "You'll just have to figure that one out on your own. I promise though it won't be hard to figure out." Sakura wanted to gulp, but decide that would be a tad rude. She was in the middle of offering her thanks instead, however, when she was startled. Kaho wasn't.

"Clow Reed, it's almost time already?" Kaho nodded her head in Sakura's direction, and she took the hint. She stumbled off, leaving them to their business. It did not turn out to be a long conversation, however. A sudden and single clapping noise made her swivel around as Kaho gestured for everyone to move in closer. When everyone was in a reasonable distance, she began to speak.

"Everyone, welcome." Her arm shot out to her left and a smile that made its way to her eyes marked her face. "As you know, that is the location of this year's Water Apprentice Exam. The parameters are simple. There are sets of two objects that everyone hoping to pass must retrieve. Just make sure to **return them in the condition they are found.** Make it out in two hours, or it is an automatic failure. But without the items, leaving at anytime is instant disqualification.

"There are many entrances to the inside, and in a moment, please choose your entryway for the Exam. All of them are of the same difficulty so it does not matter which one you choose. You have all made this far and I congratulate you, but I have one word of advice. As long as you don't overestimate your abilities, you will be fine.

"Lastly, as I'm sure you've heard, there will be absolutely _no_ use of any of the other elements once you are inside. All this applies to, remember this well. The Exam is being monitored, and you will be caught and flunked. That is all."

Sakura's mind was racing as she tried to retain everything, running back and forth over what had been said. It looked like others also had the same predicament of stowing away the information just now thrown at them. Those nervous before now looked like a wreck. Anyone still anxious and eager was beginning to shift their weight between their legs, but their Water-sensei had a few final words contrary to her last sentence.

"As for a start single… if Clow Reed would now do the honors." Everyone followed her finger skywards, and it didn't take long for them to figure out why. The once almost cloudless sky was filled with a multitude of the gray variety that only a heavy storm could procure.

Kaho caught their attention again. "Perfect. There'll be a heavy rain for a minute, so you might just want to go inside for that. So we'll take it as our starting signal. Please move to your starting position now so I can officially start the Exam."

No one dared to make her say it twice, even those that might have wanted her to. Sakura was almost lost for a moment amid the flutter of color and blurred faces. Chatter grew rapidly then died off as people separated; all was quiet now except for a few disputes over who had claimed they had gotten to a particular entrance way first.

But it wasn't long at all until Sakura was staring heatedly and just a little bit unsurely at the now opened doorway. But doubt hardened into resolve. She'd do this. She didn't just waste two years of her life. And she definitely wasn't going to waste another two while waiting for the next Exam.

And the sudden icy chill that ran across her now wet skin was motivation in itself to get started.

She was discovering a few things rather quickly, however, before her mind could even wrap itself around the fact that she was in a race against time to complete this test. The air was damp, the hairs on the back of her neck almost tingling about how overrun the place was with her element. The narrow hallway she now occupied was currently deserted if she didn't include herself, and she instinctively reached out at shoulder height to press her palms across the smooth walls as she walked slowly forward.

It was then that she heard the abrupt sound. Swinging her weight around, she managed to glimpse a small sliver of light before the door was completely closed. That would have been fine as far as she was concerned, but it became all too apparent that light was conspicuously lacking inside.

In fact, trudging forward, hands still against the walls, she only discovered her next source of light after another minute. It was dim in the distance, but she eagerly approached it with renewed vigor. On her tiptoes, her closest inspection could only confirm that it was a rather high up small square opening in the ceiling, barred by a crisscrossed pattern of metal. And as far as she could tell, the rain had already let up outside. But that didn't change the fact that she was standing in a rather large puddle.

She set out again, moving ever inward, not knowing in the least what to expect. So the sudden downpour had the intended effect. Not only was she startled and on edge, but she was damp and cold. At first she was more than happy to use her control over the element to keep herself dry, but as she continued on without any respite and upon reaching the first three-way intersection, she realized this could go on forever. Not to mention that this was a _water_ evaluation test. Getting wet should be expected, and it was a waste of her energy to maintain keeping herself dry.

A bit reluctant though she was, she did drop the extra effort. She was quickly and miserably soaked to the bone, but she now needed to decide which way to go. It was then the brilliant idea struck her. She patted the surface of the wall where her left arm was still extended to and formed an oval shaped and jagged layered piece of ice. Markers would be a good way to get around if she was going to be reduced to feeling along the walls when it became dark, despite her eyes adjusting to the lack of light.

Feeling a bit of pride in her idea, she came to make several more directional decisions, letting instinct move her forward. Walking and stumbling, turning and twisting around corners, in and out of the dark. It felt like it was becoming a never ending cycle.

What really put the damper on her spirits, however, was her coming back to a place she had been already, feeling along the wall a distinct marker of her own. Her delight received from her prior creativity had suffered a bit back there, noticing how others had similar or variant ideas of her marker one. Still, there was no doubt that this marker was one of her own, and she sighed in frustration.

She didn't get it. She felt like she was wandering endlessly, sometimes being rained down upon, sometimes not but partially not even noticing the difference, so soaked to the bone was she. Nothing had even really happened yet. Was the test just something akin to a maze where you had to wander around corridors endlessly? It didn't sound like much of a test.

What irritated her even more was that she had made no direct contact with anyone else. She hadn't even heard a single other noise that signified human existence. Not that she could hear much over droplets pounding on the slabs of the floor's material when she was caught in the rain again. Still, it made her think that all the others had already moved on to where the true test was while she was here doing nothing yet except getting lost.

So it was in a desperate state of mind that she stumbled out of the rain for the nth time. And unsuspecting as it was, she took a short break, hands dropping to her side as she breathed deeply, listening faintly to the outpour right behind her. Up ahead she could see another shaft of light making harsh contrast with the darkness, and she approached it readily. It was just that she stopped halfway there.

She grimaced at what she immediately recognized to be standing in, the water slightly above her ankles in deep, running puddles. If that's what they could even be called. But something was wrong, the sound of rain was dying out behind her as she moved forward, and she could hear the faintness of trickling water. Coming closer to the light, her instant guess was proved to be correct by a quick glance. Eyes wide in relief and happiness, she saw the water ever so slowly running down the stone floor in the direction she was facing. The puddle at her feet was shrinking.

And hadn't it looked like there had been a depression in the structure from where she had studied it when she was talking to Kaho-sensei? Did that not mean that she had reached the center of the building? And perhaps this was as good a place as any to search for the two part requirement in this retrieval assignment.

Really anything would be better than wandering around so utterly lost at that very moment.

She wasn't really all that surprised, more like delighted, when something different stood out, illuminated by a rather high up but large opening for light to pass through. Sakura cautiously gave it a kick for no real good reason, finding that the door was indeed of solid metal and had to nurse her foot tenderly because of it.

But when her mind had started to focus on her surroundings, she found an overwhelming indication of water tugging on all the contours of her senses. Even more than before, she eyed the wide door cautiously, running her hand along the length and staring with a slight frown at what was clearly upon it. It was a circular handle, looking very necessary to be spun to open the door.

Excitement resulted in her full attention, she being sure that she was on the right track now. She only stopped for a moment to contemplate that she was standing in water up to her knees, and she almost stumbled at the sudden realization. But it seemed to be draining here too.

The way she saw it, the water must have came from further back in the corridor, running down the small slant to here where it collected. But even here it was not stagnant water. Instinct took over and she pressed her ear against the cool metal.

Biting her lip, she could hear, and now, ever so clearly, she could feel the water in that room. Tons and tons of it, that room was full of collective water. And this water here was going to be pushed into it. There must be some sort of pressure that caused it. She stared for a moment and took a look around again, finding nothing else.

With a deep breath, she dared. With a heavy ambiance weighing her down, she turned the handle and she instantly heard a loud flow of water and it started to pump back in reverse, now filling up the area she was standing in more rapidly than it had been leaving the same portion of the corridor. She could see the outline of the rushing water now, coming from a rather decently gaping sliver of the platform below the door. Sakura took the initiative to back up with still being able to see the source of the change of events.

And it so happened that the water really was spreading out in the hallway, and it was even approaching her knees when she was standing farther away. Fretting over this, she heard the sound of the pressure on the metal shifting and the handle was spinning, and the door opened without further delay.

Realizing what needed to be done, she tightened her fists and decided to get it over with. Besides, she was already soaked as it was. A big gulp of air was all she took before she dove into where the water had actually amassed to a height that was possible for swimming in.

Her eyes burnt a little more than she would have liked, but it was over soon. Anyway, she didn't think she could handle such large amounts of water all at the same time to clear a path in the onslaught of water, surrounded and distracted by just how much water there was and not even being able to see it all at once. This was less energy consuming, and the smarter way to go about things.

She came up to where she could freely breathe again, taking in a large amount of air despite the fact that the distance traveled underwater had not been great. She stood there dripping wet, but quickly moved when she felt the strong current pulling her back towards the door. And while she collected herself, it seemed that water really had mostly left the room. Still, she heard the drips of water, and looked up to realize a disturbing fact. The small room had been filled with water all the way to the ceiling where it now dripped excess water from. Also farther up than anything else was another opening for light to come through.

She accidentally, rather than deliberately, discovered what came next. She almost incidentally fell in. After stumbling about, she found her bearing again, and looked down in an attempt to study it.

It appeared to be something akin to a well. However, there was a round depression for a given distance before the water piled up in the confines of its stone prison. That and there was no efficient way to draw water from it.

Still, in the small room it did stand out, and she thought if it was there then it had to have some purpose for existing as it did. So she gave it her full attention. She could see to the bottom, and it really wasn't that far. When she squinted her eyes, she could make out a hazy image on the bottom. That decided it.

Spreading her knees across the slippery floor in her kneeling position, a little concentration went a long way. With caution in mind, she raised the water out slowly. And when the last of the water had been drawn out, she sat there bewildered. Then a content smile made its way to her lips.

There were several of them. Thrown about in no order, they had clattered to ground, lying in pools of the displaced water. It had to be the first part of two in the retrieval process. She collected the nearest one, turning it round in her hands.

It was metal, that was for sure. It looked like a tin, boasting a round and narrow indication. If she didn't know any better…

But that couldn't be it. She stood up shaking her head of the thought, and the complications of her being right would bring. Instead she gave a minute's thought and then decided that it was only fair for someone else to have to discover this on their own too.

She kicked the remaining ones back down the short distance to where she could hear them land in a jumbled mess. Then she set about shifting the water back down, only satisfied until the water was almost completely replaced back to the level where she had found it.

Two things then happened at once. Thinking everything was going fine and everything was alright now, she turned back to the door to leave. It had been with the intention to reverse the process she had done before by turning a handle and the water flowing back the reverse way. It was not so.

Instead she stood their blinking and gaping all at once. Her hands running the length of the door found no distinction to contradict what her eyes had confirmed. There was no handle. And a quick look was all it took to see the water was gushing back into where it had originated. From the way the ceiling had been dripping, she knew that this entire room filled up, and then where was she going to get the air needed to breathe from?

She thought quickly about her options, she couldn't stop that much water from flowing back in, right? But maybe she could seal the opening so that it would stay out there in the hallway.

Her thought process was suffering per usual from the strains of having to make quick decisions. Her turning the water flowing through into ice did nothing. The pressure had been reversed, and the water was dead set in coming back, slamming through the ice barrier that had covered the small opening.

This seemed only too surrealistic to be true, and she took deep breathes to calm herself, head turning crazily for another way out. There had to be one. It made no sense if there wasn't. How else did anyone get out of here if there wasn't? Her half-desperate thoughts turned out to be right for once. For the second time in such a short lapse of time, she almost fell. This time, however, it was a rectangular and small opening in the floor, implanted right by the wall.

She instantly dove her head in where naturally there was more collected water, stinging eyes searching to see where it led, if anywhere. The light was diminishing further in, but she saw how the opening continued underneath where the wall stopped progress on her current level. She had to hope that it lead somewhere. The water was not being very benevolent here as it was already starting to cover the small of her back as she leaned over the opening.

She only took a quick pause to secure the item she had just retrieved by tucking it away between her two layers of clothing. It slipped underneath the jacket-like clothing piece, and she secured it tightly against herself. Eyes closing in anxiety, she took the largest breath she could manage and plummeted in.

She had no way of knowing if the water's temperature was that cold or not since some of her body had already gone numb from the complete exposure to the water around her. Still, she couldn't help thinking that it was indeed a freezing temperature.

She continued on, arms flailing in front of her to be her eyes when it became completely dark, kicking with as strong a kick as she could muster. And precious air was being lost in the form of small bubbles in her wake.

This feeling. It was like being completely oppressed. To be surrounded by what you were supposed to be able to control and to feel completely helpless like this. It made her feel small and insignificant. Swimming as fast as she could in darkness and without the power to do anything about it was an overwhelming experience.

It had occurred to her to move the water away from her face to use whatever air was down here, but was there any to begin with? She wasn't even sure. And to do it while she was in motion at this speed with her arms already occupied? It seemed that would only hinder her instead of being an aid in her current plight.

But she had another idea, one that would also stretch the test of her abilities, but this one had some undeniable usefulness to it, and she couldn't stop herself from giving it a try. She bit her lip as her lungs began to burn, and she went for it.

Shutting her eyes made no difference in relation to her amount of sight, but it did seem to help her concentrate. She did take a little water in, however, (much to her horror) when she finally managed what she had been trying to accomplish. She wanted to shout in joy, but there was no way she'd ever attempt it here. Instead she had to silently relish in the fact that she was moving herself along besides the instinctual arm flailing. It was through the effort of controlling the water into a small current with her hands and even partially with her feet that brought her joy.

And she liked to believe that she was going faster now, cutting through more space at a faster tempo. The way the cold water sliced at her numbing cheeks would have been her evidence. But she didn't know if she was, couldn't know being as good as blind. Her eyes were open, unseeing and stinging, and all she could do was keep going.

But her outstretched hands suddenly contacted the wall, and even her head slammed the wall lightly, making her intake more water. Her lungs felt like they were searing, about to collapse. Her mind was racing, but she felt like it was on fire. She was lost and confused, but she knew she had to act fast.

She slammed her fist into the wall in frustration. She instinctively looked up where she thought her hope would lie. She didn't know, and she wouldn't know unless she tried, so she kicked her feet hard, arms stroking the water as she moved up to where she hoped the surface could be.

And there it was.

She laid there, like a beached sea creature, half out of the water, half still in it. Her ear was pressed into the cold floor as she turned her head to the side, breathing like she hadn't in ages. And it felt like she hadn't.

Her lungs were cooling, no longer her sole piercing attention as she stayed there recovering from her breathless state. Wincing, she coughed up some water, and she slowly used her arms to push her lower body out of the water too. She granted herself a few moments to collect her bearing, lying as she was until she decided enough had been enough.

She stood shakily, one hand aiding her balance by clutching the wall. The other was nursing her skull where it had impacted the wall after not being able to slow down in time. Eyes widening, she almost fell to the floor as her extra support neglected its duty to check where she had placed the small piece of metal she had previously picked up. She breathed a sigh of relief upon confirming it was still there, but then remembered that she shouldn't be wasting anymore time. She absolutely had no idea about how much time was left.

She surveyed where she had ended up. She looked behind herself quickly, noting what was there. What was there only actually entitled an identically small rectangular opening next to the wall as there had been in the other room. Besides that, it was all very much a solid wall. That would be a dead end.

Turning back around, she decided there was nowhere else left to go. Looking up, she realized painfully that there was light again. She hadn't ever particularly disliked the light, but it was hurting her eyes after the experience in the darkness. Moving forward she could now see that the hallways continued straight, but it also left the options of going left and right open.

Sighing, she set off towards the left. The floor had somehow cunningly decided to vanish and was replaced by a not too deep pool of water. This time there were no problems related to freezing water, and she half slipped, half walked, down that way until she exasperatedly realized it lead absolutely nowhere She hurried all the way back to the intersection, this time going straight. The path that went right from before.

This one was uneventful, but the walls were full of water rushing down its surface. She found it to be more annoying this time than ever before to keep her hands spread out on either side of the wall as the darkness returned. But that only lasted until she bumped straight into another dead end.

There was no other way to go now, and she could only pray and hope that this wasn't another dead end. Otherwise there would be no other hope for her. And as she turned the seemingly quiet corner and went down the equally silent corridor, she couldn't but think she had made a wrong turn, a mistake somewhere.

Only this time there was a light up ahead. It just didn't look like the kind of light the outside sky provided. She soon found out why and discovered her previously discarded idea had indeed been true. Much to her displeasure.

There they were, all planted in their respective holders, giving the room an eerie, moving glow. Sakura became bathed in the orange light as she stepped closer to its source. There were many, many of them. And one was for her taking.

Reaching under her thin and soaked jacket, she drew out the metal tin. With an absolute shudder, she plucked the nearest candle and planted it into its new holder. This was not going to be easy.

With the two item requirement met, she held the combined item close to her around the metal frame with her left hand. Although she was sure not to hold it too close so that she'd catch on fire. That would be beyond messy.

Her search for a way out of this new room was ended quickly enough, but a constant dread had set down upon her. To keep this candle in the same condition that she found it in meant that it couldn't get wet. In an Apprentice Exam where the focus was _water_, that could really prove to be difficult.

She continued forward in this state, further depressed when she finally realized she was in another sort of maze. The only saving grace of the damn candle was that it gave off light to challenge the now ever present darkness.

Down the nth hallway of the day, a piece of the ceiling caved, only it was in the form of ice which she responded to by shooting out her right arm to redirect it. A mist settled in shortly after, and she was a little aggravated by the fact that the flame was even less useful now because seeing was becoming a thing of the past.

Deciding against dissipating it, she shuffled forward, the small light she had cutting through the darkness just enough to produce the image of an open area. Unfortunately for her, she hadn't looked closely enough.

Out of nowhere, she found herself being grazed with a shot of ice. She turned to see what had catalyzed it with every intention of stopping it. She was surprised to see that it was a person. She was going to speak, to ask what the hell was going on, but she only needed to see him clutching his extinguished candle to understand.

She could tell with a quick dodge of an ice laced fist that he was aiming for her left arm and shoulder. He also wasn't being stupid and using the liquid form of water that could easily and accidentally extinguish her candle. And when a blow connected to her shoulder, she almost did drop her possession. But she'd be damned if she lost it that easily.

She didn't want to counterattack, and she was not good at fighting in general. She was not particular skilled in the field either, but her highest attribute by default had to be agility. However, she did have the sometimes useful skill of coming up with an unexpected strategy to move a fight in her favor. That was, when she hadn't completely lost her wits. And this wasn't a time to.

Sidestepping the front assault of ice, she had to duck quickly before the one behind her made contact. She landed and bruised her right leg in the impact, but she had what was hers so everything was still fine.

She shot up to her feet, not waiting for him to make another move. She took a risky endeavor, shielding the flickering candle behind her back as she used what was a threat to it. She lashed the water at him, changing its direction as he moved and slammed it into his face. He shut his eyes tight, and she winced a bit on his part, and froze what water was still clinging to his face.

"Sorry!" She was off now, noticing there were three paths left to take if she were to move forward, and she picked the right. She paused to momentarily seal the wall up with ice as she did with the other three. Hopefully if he continued to pursue her, he'd pick the wrong hallway in the process.

She was running now, partially from her adrenaline racing and also because she wasn't sure how much time was remaining. For all she knew, time could have run out. And that thought only made her move faster. In the chaos she couldn't help but conclude that maybe meeting no one else had really been a blessing in disguise.

She couldn't tell how much longer this corridor went on, but she knew that so far there had been no digressions of the straight path. Although for some reason she felt uneasy. It could be accounted to the fact that she was still trying to protect flame in a place full of water, but it felt more like something was about to happen. Her free fingers were almost twitching, and the presence of water almost felt completely irrepressible, like she was surrounded. But she couldn't see any reason as to why she was thinking along these lines.

Her answer came in an unorthodox way, not that anything in here had been of the norm. She felt her foot brush against something, something that felt not quite right. And somewhere in the process in that step forward, she began falling. On instinct alone, she threw the candle from a low height down the hall, watching until it stopped where she thought it rolled over onto its side. It was not just the resounding sound of metal scrapping the stone slabs that made her grimace.

How exactly it had happened was something she'd probably never be able to figure out, so fast had it happened. All she knew was that she was clutching metal bars, water filling the area she occupied to the very brim. The foremost problem here was to be able to keep breathing.

The solution, for once, came quickly, but she'd have to make sure that she pushed the water out in the opposite direction from the fallen candle. She didn't need that to go out now of all times. So with that in mind, she shifted enough water out of the top opening by the grate in small waves, just enough room for her to get her breathing straight. Now she just had to figure out how to get out of this.

Hands clenching around the metal bars, her mind ran in circles in exasperation. In aggravation she kicked her foot out at the floor that was the bottom surface of the one on the normal ground level. She was already wincing from the about to be stubbed toe, but the pain did not come. Instead she was speechless at the turn of the events. If she was a bit more egoistical, she would have called herself a genius.

So the floor where she had kicked was actually wood, painted in accordance with the stone ground. And a good kick had sent what had already been loose up and out onto the adjacent ground. Luck had made its presence known she thought wryly as she climbed out, replacing the board back to where it had been just a moment ago.

She made to where sure enough the candle had landed on its side, kneeling down to gingerly pick it up as if it might break. It having just been its own beacon of light to guide her towards it to be rescued from the floor, she signed in relief. It was still burning stubbornly on. She wasn't out of this yet.

This time she moved forward more cautiously yet even faster than before if that was even possible in the first place. But she couldn't take it anymore, she had to get out. Her own footsteps wading through ankle deep water was driving her insane.

The rain started up again, and that did force her to slow down to make sure the rain didn't hit the flame in a controlled and exclusive dry area. But her newly formed frown shortly became erased.

There she could see it. Straight ahead.

The exit.

--e--a--

Tomoyo had come into the Medical Branch today to help someone get back to what they once were. That was how rehabilitation worked. It just didn't seem to be working for her.

Forming relationships, getting to know the actual patient. To make it more personal than just a data sheet and another scenario. She had thought that rehab would make that happen. And it did. The whole treatment idea was a long road of recovery for these people, and that made it possible to get closer to her patients like she wanted. It gave it that human element. But it was also depressing.

Surrounded by people that weren't just faces and numbers and getting to know them was how she spent most days. A lot of them had no will left in them. Some wanted to end their own life. Most where just subdued, but the occasional patient had this agonistic mindset. And when she thought that she knew this people, at least to some extent, that was hard to deal with.

And just today, coming into work… seeing someone she had worked with closely like that. Of course she had seen the deterioration, but it still almost seemed to be too unreal.

Death would probably always be a difficult situation to deal with no matter who you were.

And upon opening her room up and closing it silently behind her, she considered the option of changing. But she would feel guilty, a traitor for not wearing the traditional black so she swallowed the essence of being uncomfortable when she felt like she was awkwardly wearing another's skin.

She removed her shoes in customary fashion and her jacket too, going through the actions but not really feeling like she was doing them. Her eyes adverted to where she had left her source of peace, automatically reaching for it and settling crossed legged on her bed.

Reading and making notes, learning new theories, writing what came to mind to check if her own ideas were possible, that's what was stagnant. This was never changing information that she consumed for the sake of herself. No life and death here, no people. This was what furthered her studies in the medical field.

But her other topic of books, mixed in and interlaced with the medical ones, was her Elemental research tomes. While reading these she often felt wistful, but they were always interesting, and she found that once she started, it was hard to stop sometimes. And on occasion she'd hesitantly write down her own theories on these matters, wondering if she was so misguided in her thinking that she could be laughed at by a more knowledgeable person.

Then she'd stop with her self-doubting, melancholy thoughts pushing out this different information from her head and causing her to dive back into medical books. There's a reason she shouldn't theorize, shouldn't even read them. She wasn't good enough to be one of them. She really didn't fit in any determined single place. She was just drifting… drifting along.

Finding her own place, staying there. She'd love to find that. But the continuous scratch of her quill lined with ink, the countless flipping through pages of information. All that helped her forget that she couldn't find one. Maybe she never would. But to keep going meant to deny that, and she wanted to deny that if nothing else.

Feeling undead, mind wandering, she didn't know how long she had been doing this perhaps unusual source of comfort. However, when she stopped she stared in surprise at all that she had written down, crossed out, reworded, everything that she had done and yet remembered almost none of it. Sighing she turned back pages to the last thing she remembered, glancing over her notes to hopefully guide her through it this time faster while still retaining the information.

She didn't expect Meilin to come bursting in a moment later, over her shoulder lugging a tarp sack. Tomoyo instantly bent over and started coughing. Meilin turned bewildered and raised an eyebrow.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" Meilin stood there blinking in true wonder, yet still not at the point that she'd be worried for Tomoyo's wellbeing. Tomoyo herself dove into her covers. When she emerged, she made an overdone gesture of pinching her nose.

"Meilin, you stink!" Meilin sighed at this, shrugging off her load and crossing her arms.

"So I did something wrong again. You don't have to say it like that." Tomoyo clasped an hand to her mouth, cringing in what looked like pain as her head shook back and forth.

"No, no! You literally stink. Where the hell have you been?" She opened her eyes, ready to interrogate. "And what have you been _doing_?"

Meilin looked like it had just come to her. "Oh! You're talking about that smell." She took to waving a hand carelessly, the other sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. "Don't worry, don't worry. I forgot all about it. You get used to it soon enough." Meilin truly looked as if she believed what she had said. Tomoyo could only assume she was right, but she wasn't taking any chances here.

Rummaging her drawers, she found what she had wanted: an old handkerchief. Only when it was securely clasped over her mouth did she breathe again and dare to talk.

"The only thing that's keeping me here is that Sakura-chan is probably gone crazy with celebration by now, and that would just leave me completely depressed." Her muffled voice didn't mask her irritation. "And you didn't answer the questions! How is it even possible to get like that and _forget_ about the smell?"

"Hey, hey." Meilin placed one hand on her hip, the other outstretched and palm up as she closed her eyes and explained. "I'm just taking care of things. Nothing to worry about."

"You do realize what you just said, don't you?" Meilin laughed at those words, dragging the tarp that she had messily tied up in a knot at one end. She proceeded to bring it out of Tomoyo's sight behind Meilin's messy bed. Tomoyo sighed. "Look at you. You're a mess, you bring in a horrible stench, and you're running all over the place. You're out of control."

Meilin peeked her head out, a small smile on her face. "That's just the kind of person I am. Out of control. Yeah, that's me." Tomoyo clenched the cloth over her mouth harder, having almost let it drop.

"You say not to worry, but I do, Meilin. I've been thinking, and even though you never tell anyone I think I'm right… Meilin, you aren't trying to-"

"Like I said you worry too much. Don't worry about the smell for that long. It should be gone within a couple of hours at the most. So if you just want to work in a private study or the library until then, you probably should." Tomoyo stared hard at the back of her head, but then she ducked down completely, and Tomoyo frowned as she stood up.

Meilin always was trying to be so strong and put on a strong face. But she hid so easily like that. Tomoyo collected her papers in a hurry without taking another glance at the hunched over Meilin. Tomoyo wouldn't interfere. She had the worst feeling about it, but she wouldn't stop Meilin's work. She couldn't even if she wanted to. There probably wasn't anyone who could.

She was just worried that Meilin was in way over her head. And she thought Meilin knew that too. Yet she kept going, and that would surely be the death of her. She just hoped that if it had to happen, it would remain figuratively and not become literally.

--e--a--

Rika crossed the distance quickly, her face still flushed as she approached her target. The blanket was flying behind her like a cloak as she grasped it tightly in front of her. Coming to a halt she leaned over, her cloak looking as if it were about to envelop her.

"Sakura? That was a close one. How are you feeling?" Sakura tiredly smiled back up at her, bundled up herself in another similar looking blanket in front of a small fire. Rika took the small pause to seat herself down too, hands moving like they were drawn to the edge of the fire's full warmth.

"I'm fine. I would be great if I hadn't banged my head a few times. I guess I really am a klutz. I cut it really close though. Only made it by ten minutes… You made me look so bad."

Rika was waving it off, chin to her knees, grinning. Loosing herself to staring at the fire, she managed to still speak unwaveringly. "Hey, I'm two years older than you. It would be twice as bad for _me_ if you beat me." She then averted her eyes to gaze across her exposed leg that was looking worse for wear. "Besides, I got beat up a lot worse than you so no complaining."

Sakura looked a bit sheepish for what she had said, but she still mumbled something off. "I wasn't complaining. Just saying." She inched closer to the fire, kneeling to get her upper body warmer. She changed the topic. "You'd think that we'd be warmer by now that we got all the water removed… but I still am shivering."

Rika stared at her shoes, nodding. "Probably from the sudden change in temperature. It'll go away. But for now," she snuggled into her blanket even more, leaving the sentence dangling, but the message came across clearly. Sakura sighed and wrapped hers closer in response.

"What's wrong with us? I mean I'm happy that I passed, but it just doesn't feel like anything changed. I always get let down. You'd think we'd be so excited that we couldn't sit still. It's almost like we're depressed!"

"Ah… Yeah, I know what you mean…" Rika's thoughtful look was lost with a sudden short laugh. "I couldn't help but imagine us out drinking. You, drunk. That's a funny image." Sakura knew it wasn't supposed to be taken as an offense, but old habits as well as reactions died hard.

"You're one to talk. I could probably hold more drinks than you could." Sakura stuck out her tongue, and she burst out laughing. But the moment was quickly lost, and she sobered up. "I know what you mean, though. I can just imagine it. Depressed enough to drink ourselves into a stupor. What's wrong with that picture?"

Rika contributed a dejected sigh. "Everything. And it was such a big event too. It's what we've been working up to for what seems like forever. To think, even Clow-sama and all the other Elemental-sensei came."

"Yeah… Oh, weren't you just talking to Terada-sensei?"

"Huh? Eh, that's right," Rika blinked, caught off guard.

Silence reigned for a few moments, and Rika shifted uneasily. Finally Sakura turned her gaze over to her companion with a small smile. "Well, I'd like to see how I feel about all this in the morning. At least I know that I wouldn't have wanted to fail. I'd probably be really depressed then. And who knows, maybe all the hype of being at Apprentice level is true."

Rika watched as Sakura stood up, and her eyes were drawn back to the fire. "Could be… I'd like to think so at least."

"Uh, Rika, maybe you'd better get back from the fire too. It looks like it's making your face all flushed."

"N-no, I mean… Yeah, never mind, I guess you're right." She stood up too, and followed Sakura who was already heading off.

Sakura took a glance at the sky, endless as always and clear after that induced momentary rain. She hoped that this sort of accomplishment would be one that she'd be proud of in the future. But how much had Trainee level changed things? Was it going to keep going on just like this?

Still, at least it wasn't as if she didn't know why she kept doing this. It was like something that she had to do, no questions asked, and she felt that there really was no need for them. It was simple and easy to say that she did it to help those she could because that's what she believed. It didn't matter how many times she had failed at it, as long as she could save someone, she'd keep giving it her all.

But suddenly she frowned, a fist at her hip as she looked skyward again, muttering under her breath. "See, Syaoran? Look at what you missed out on! You let me get ahead of you." A small sigh and then, "You better be taking care of yourself. I don't really trust that Madoushi."

"Huh, did you say something, Sakura?" Rika turned towards her, an inquisitive look spreading across her face.

"Nothing really. Just thinking out loud."

--e--a--

Syaoran felt that it was all wrong, couldn't be more wrong. He wanted to say something, anything, but there were no words that came to him. Instead he just stared, waiting for Madoushi to take center stage again, commanding everyone awaiting orders without any explanation offered.

She swung around her arm in a specific direction, talking in her voice that maintained the condition of no resistance, securing complete obedience. Maybe he was taking it too far in his interpretation, but wasn't _she_ going too far? To recklessly attack a town like this, complete lack of concern towards the inhabitants. No precautions for their safety… And he had thought he was uncaring. This was certainly not helping Elementalists gain any better reputation among the general public.

And all the water in this town just didn't settle well with him. Not in the least.

Somehow, amongst the chaos, his own set of directions was issued, but they had fallen on deaf ears. It was only when he felt Wei clasp his shoulder did he come out of his state of unawareness.

"Off to the edge of the clearing. Last resort to keep the water back." Syaoran didn't find it very surprising. After all, he being a fire Elementalist was practically useless in this situation. And being rather a novice in all that controlling the element of earth pertained, he rightfully should be expected to be a final, desperate option in using either of his two elements.

So he went where he was told, knowing he'd otherwise be dead weight and a burden, two things he'd despise himself over becoming. He stood there, eyes following Wei's back as he became wrapped up in Madoushi's workings, coming to stand not too far from her own side.

She stood there, arms spread and fighting back a rather large flood of oncoming water, displaying why she was in fact capable of being a leader of Elementalists.

Coming down to the option of having to redirect it rather than force it back, she made a harsh gesture with her right arm, and just like that, making it look so easily, she split the water in half. The spray of water caused by the action even reached where he was, he being left to shield his eyes from the incoming substance.

"Surround it and get it under control!" She hadn't even looked back to see what was happening, only focusing on her new target of interest, one that couldn't be ignored.

He found out what that was soon enough. When he could fully see again, he was met with the sight of a nearby building that had gotten wrapped up in the onslaught of water, collapsing from the element. And with some visible effort, she set about to take advantage of the water it was surrounded by.

The remaining pieces went flying without warning, and Syaoran himself had to narrowly dodge a piece of the stone wall, now just crumbling slabs of material, as it headed towards the ground to make a flashy impact.

Focusing his eyes angrily on Madoushi again, he was met with the sight, however, of Wei taking a partial blow from the debris, it only having been lessened by his manipulation of the air.

Syaoran didn't know what was going on anymore, but he was instantly running, cutting through waves of water and floating doors and the like that were torn into pieces. He tried not to look at the floating yet sinking bodies.

He came to Wei's side, already offering his shoulder. Madoushi half turned in his direction, but her main attention was obviously elsewhere.

"Good, get both of you to the sidelines."

Syaoran wanted to snap, but he knew the priority here. She was right; he did have to get over there as soon as he could. But he couldn't be completely silenced.

"What the hell are you doing? That was completely reckless, and you even hurt one of your own! And you don't even care!" Madoushi frowned.

"Kid, there's no doubt in my mind that Wei is perfectly capable of taking care of himself. Maybe that's something you don't understand. And you really should have kept shut about that other part. Because, really, have you ever looked at your own style?" She ended with a smirk, moving forward and being cut off by another curtain of water.

Cursing and half-supporting Wei through more of the like only left him drenched, but when they had finally made it to the sidelines, Syaoran sighed in relief, trying to get a glimpse of Madoushi. Wei stopped his efforts. He was coughing up blood.

"Are you okay?" Syaoran was near to the ground, staring in horror at what had happened.

"There's nothing to worry about. She is right. We have faith in each other's abilities. And this just showed up at a bad moment. It has nothing to do with my other injury." Syaoran didn't look convinced. He knew Wei coughed often, but this was the first time he had seen him cough up blood.

He turned his attention to the surrounding chaos. So Madoushi's "prediction" or "intuition" had been right again. He really wanted to know how she did it. More importantly, why it always had to entail something abnormally chaotic where nothing made sense. His experience under Clow had never given him the same experience, and he wondered why she operated like this with complete lack of regard for the living, and subsequently, the dead.

He fisted his hands at his sides and wondered why nothing was right no matter what he did. Had it made any difference coming here? What had been the point in the first place? Things felt like they were falling apart all over again. Some hole that couldn't be mended. It was there. It looked like it would always be there.

And he wondered if it really mattered anymore what he did. If it was only destined to come down to this…

It didn't matter what he did. It didn't matter where he went. Everywhere seemed to have its own set of freedoms. But there were always the chains that came along with them too.

**Longest chapter I've ever written. If you have any comments, I'd love to hear them. It's been a while in the review window, and I can't even begin to describe how inspirational they are. So if you do that for me, I'll be off working my butt off on _two_** **stories for this series now. Next chapter is the premier of _Elemental Basics_, basically a collection of one-shots. **

**And, _next_** **chapter should be fun too because I had been itching to write it since practically the story began. It's centric to one character and one character only. Here's the hint. Chapter's entitled: Attempt.**


	10. Attempt

**_Elemental Aeon  
_**Kesshou Uryou

**Act III  
Chapter X  
Attempt**

Meilin awoke, not to her surprise, on the floor and practically buried by various books. The fact that she was now awake was one she was still fighting. However, her back was protesting after hours in that uncomfortable position, and the books were not the covers she was used to.

With a sigh and rubbing her left eye, she sat up, a yawn escaping all at once. Kicking some books aside, she got on her feet only to tiredly fall onto her bed. Once again she had fallen asleep while reading by the side of her bed where she got the most privacy from the questioning Tomoyo.

It wasn't unusual. It had happened before. But now it was just happening nearly almost every night because she had a plan to adhere to. And now that the ingredients had arrived, there was only so long they'd stay in affect and be able to be used. She figured that all the possible kinks had to be worked out now, or everything would have been a lost cause. Needless to say, that was the last thing she wanted to happen.

So now she was reading, indefinitely re-reading her texts that she had salvaged. Some were rightly Tomoyo's, something the younger girl had noticed immediately. It was more material that she used in her interrogations of Meilin. But those efforts were worthless. Tomoyo probably knew that too and just did it to achieve some semblance of control.

Because really that girl had filled in the blanks on her own. Meilin hated resourceful people for this reason alone for they had the knack of doing it and not only when they themselves were concerned. This had nothing to do with Tomoyo and yet Meilin was pretty sure she knew of the attempt she was prepping.

By now Meilin could easily see that Tomoyo was on her trail. However, she also saw all the hesitation that she dragged along with her. Tomoyo sometimes looked like she had unfortunately stumbled into something she hadn't wanted to stumble into because of what it entailed. Meilin could see her struggling with herself over what to do, and luckily for her, Tomoyo had made no decision yet. There was no doubt that she would know if Tomoyo had.

So it may not have been even necessary to try for whatever little privacy she could get from what had caused her to fall asleep on the floor. But still, even though Tomoyo was currently unsure on any course of action, she had all the chances to become an obstacle. If there was a way of making it so Tomoyo could only know as little as possible, she'd take it. Besides, old habits died hard.

But thinking of the tinted indigo-haired teenager must have made have had some sort of bad effect on her current luck. Because it was, as it turned out, not yet the time where Tomoyo would already be gone. That fact likely meant some awkward lines of dialogue, strained attempts at conversation. That and Meilin had gotten less sleep than she had previously thought she had.

Tomoyo was standing in front of the curtained window, buttoning up the last few buttons of her coat. She still had a few strands of hair out of place courtesy of her night of sleep, but everything from Tomoyo's dictated uniform to her expression screamed professional.

And she was now looking at Meilin who couldn't see it because of her closed eyes but somehow knew it was happening all the same. Meilin buried her head into the covers a little more. Tomoyo looked as tired as they both felt, but only Meilin was acting upon it. Tomoyo had more concerns to attend to, and Meilin only bothered with two.

And she only put her loyalty in her first and foremost.

Tomoyo flipped out her trapped hair from beneath her newly buttoned coat before she let her shoulders droop a bit. It was her only acute sign of frustration. "You sure had a good night's sleep, huh?"

Meilin smirked, an overwhelmingly tired one, but a smirk all the same. "As a matter of fact, it kinda was. I got a lot out of it."

"You're going to kill yourself, I swear." Tomoyo offered only this reprimand before she cocked a corner of her mouth up in a frown. Straitening up, she began to approach the door in long strides.

"I don't see how that concerns you. It's my business. And I-"

"-do what I have to do. I know. You say it all the time. It doesn't change anything." Tomoyo wound her hand tightly around the handle, stopping for a moment against her reasoning. Tomoyo stuck around longer than Meilin had thought she would too. The younger girl was not almost out of earshot when Meilin automatically replied.

"Well, if I'm that obvious, you shouldn't have to say anything about it. You know what I'm going to say back anyway. So just go and be perfect for Clow and all those other Elementalists."

"I think I should. I am one even if I'm not on their level. I still am one." She turned a disapproving glance at Meilin, speaking more roughly than she had intended, but it all had just slipped out. Meilin had that rather embarrassing effect on her sometimes. "That's what makes us different. I'm an Elementalist too, just like them. Maybe you should think once in a while. Because you should know that we are people too. Talking about us like that… Right in front of us… Sometimes I wonder how you could be able to do that. So I guess you might just be beyond help."

Meilin opened her eyes and stared hard at a spot on the wall during the course of the speech. When it was over, Meilin felt mentally tired too. "So we both get it now. If that's correct like you think it is, you should probably just go now. You wouldn't want to be around here any longer."

Tomoyo froze, looking like as if she was finally going to let it slip off her tongue. All her fears, all her speculations, and all her guesses, about to be heard. But she was silent for a second too long… The moment was lost. Instead she found another reason to justify the few extra moments she had spent just standing there.

"Well, then… When are you going to return my books?" Tomoyo opened the door. "I'll be wanting them back."

--e--a--

Meilin had taken Tomoyo's request seriously. Finding unusual places to hide Tomoyo's possessions had been among her agenda for that day, and she had ignored the subsequent accusations of her doing just that. Tomoyo had stopped speaking to her for a while after that, perhaps thinking of ways to get more copies of her stolen books because she knew Meilin wouldn't be returning them anytime soon. But then again, maybe she wasn't thinking about that because these were books she had used in the past and had held onto. They were no longer necessary for her studies in any of her varying ranges of work.

However, that didn't mean _Meilin_ had no use for them. She had been holding onto them for this long because she did have plenty of need for them. Tomoyo knew this too; she wasn't stupid. So she really could be looking for copies of the exact same books that Meilin had irritatingly hid just so she could figure out more of the puzzle Meilin guarded. She could perhaps get a closer look at what Meilin was thinking about and how all those books connected with it. Meilin wouldn't put it past Tomoyo to be thinking about all this at that very moment.

Still, it would take a good deal of work to find what Meilin was particularly interested in and following up. The subject trailed from one book to another, and Tomoyo almost never worked with specific books, working instead from general ones. It would be hard indeed for Tomoyo to follow the trail. But Meilin knew not to count her out.

Still, time was running out on all levels.

Meilin could only now dive into research when she knew that Tomoyo wouldn't be around to find out exactly _where_ she had hidden the objects in question. Tomoyo was probably getting frustrated and crazed enough to start memorizing what pages Meilin leafed through to check later if Meilin so much as cracked a book open in front of her.

And if she really did fall that low, Meilin actually couldn't blame the girl. Meilin was playing with things that Tomoyo knew no one should be playing with in the first place. When this was all over, hopefully with everything turned out for the better, Meilin might just thank Tomoyo for keeping things under wraps. She saw the internal conflict, but Tomoyo always thought better of saying something, secretly afraid of betraying her friend. And there was always the fact she had no definite proof and perhaps this was all paranoia on her own part.

But Meilin knew better than to just have faith in that hesitation. She really had to finish this up quickly. She had a few scattered ideas to follow up on if she was successful, but first she had to get this over and done with before the farther off future started preoccupying her mind.

There was only one necessary objective, and she'd see it through.

So with Tomoyo scheduled to be out for several hours and some quick rescheduling with damn Clow to rework her personal timeframe during Tomoyo's hours, she had gotten out the books that Tomoyo was on the hunt for.

She only needed two today, but it was always best to be prepared and have everything within hand's reach if she needed it. Besides, she wasn't as confident as she was telling herself she was. Not much knowledge on this matter that she was currently concerning herself with was available to her, or anyone else for that matter, but she'd plow through such a small obstacle. She did have the necessary ingredients at any rate.

With that thought, she began to gently remove the said ingredient from the its cocoon of tarp, laying it out on the clear surface of her desk, which for once was clear of messy papers. From a drawer and then from a small worn leather sheath she took out a rather large knife and proceeded until a grimace marred her brow.

"Never was much of a chef."

She kicked her legs underneath her chair, one arm folded across the desk as she held up the wound to the window's light. It was shallow and small, but it was still bubbling with blood.

With a tired sigh she wiped the cut off against a piece of cloth she had just recently used to clean her hands. Ignoring the stinging, she picked up the knife again and continued chopping. She almost wanted to laugh. The whole idea, with its execution so near, seemed ridiculous. But it was too promising to not try, and it seemed to be without loopholes. She just hoped that it wasn't too good to be true.

But this had to work. She was going to make it work. No matter what the costs. Maybe she'd thoroughly look into some back-up methods in case it really did come down to that.

"Ah." She scrapped back the chair on its legs, staring wide eyed at the spindly, relatively fresh plant. Tomoyo had said it had brought a rotten smell, but it didn't attack the particular sense for too long, and Meilin didn't bother with why. Maybe the smell by now had dissipated or she had truly grown accustomed to it, but truthfully she couldn't care less about that.

It was just now, eying it carefully that she was amazed. Placing a tentative hand over her heart, she smiled and breathed a sigh of relief and relaxation. This could be better, more effective, than she had thought. Better than what the information she had found out about it had said.

"Prolonged exposure… It shouldn't affect me, but…" She moved close to the window this time and held up her fingertips to the light that would make sure she got a full examination.

She wanted to say the skin was charred, but she knew it wasn't that. It felt like a shocking sensation, the skin prickling and bristling against a foreign substance. She tapped the strange plant with the knife slowly, getting no reaction. She fisted her slighted hand, wanting to know why her skin had reacted so violently, but her mind was already working around answers. It only mattered that it worked, and work well it did.

She returned to her small work area, knife posed and scrapping against the wood to brush it into a slowly growing pile. This time she grabbed the small cloth to keep a barrier up between her skin and the strange plant.

The reason it must have had happened was because she was surrounded by it, her mind thought lightly. And just the essence of it had rubbed off on her, causing the reaction. Everything was fine. And if this incredibly insignificant coincidence had caused something like that, there were no worries.

Exactly, everything would be over soon.

She set about at faster pace, watchful however for anymore incidents from her lack of cutting skills. This foreign, unearthly plant had already been coated in liquid substances, but Meilin still had to add a few final touches before anything was ready.

She quietly decided that having a second plan, worst come to worst, wasn't such a bad idea, however. She had just the thing in mind, and she'd rather enjoy learning how to do it. She told herself it wasn't for the reassurance; it was for the satisfaction that came with it.

--e--a--

"Loading, handling, aim, check…"

Meilin loved the thrill of a challenge, even when the said thing bared its stubborn side. That's what made it interesting. With everything coming together so suddenly, a little something to vent her frustration and self-doubts on was always welcome.

To get another little hobby (maybe she'd call it an obsession) to clear her mind was natural. She was actually enjoying this side quest enough to the point she considered something along these lines for her possible future. She had talent for it; it only made sense.

She was fine too with it even if she got a few stares for her murmurs spoken under her breath as she reviewed things over in her head.

Of course, coming back and sneaking in after curfew for the past few days had aroused the attention of a certain roommate. That wasn't welcome.

No surprise was it that said roommate was still up like she had been since day one of Meilin's late night excursions, eyes half-lidded. Almost as if she thought that their apparent conveyance of distrust and suspicion would get Meilin to confess. By now it should be obvious that Meilin didn't crack so easily.

"There's just no way to keep you under control, is there?" Meilin grabbed the cloth travel bag she had secured around her shoulder.

"You're still questioning that?" Meilin was grinning, her free hand tucked away safely in her coat pocket. Namely, it was her dominant one.

Tomoyo decided to change the subject to keep her mission on track. Which was, quite simply, to make Meilin stop. "Hiding your hand again? Is it still scalded from whatever the hell you were doing?" Meilin waved a hand nonchalantly.

"It's fine. I've been taking good care of it. See?" For show she took the said hand out, displaying it with a disinterested look focused on her twisting hand.

Tomoyo wasn't convinced. Meilin was never good at taking care of herself health wise. Staying up all hours was proof to the testament. Besides, there was something glaringly obvious that Tomoyo absolutely couldn't ignore about the matter.

"Your hand is in a glove, Meilin. How am I supposed to believe you when you won't even show it to me?" Tomoyo folded her arms, waiting for the comeback.

"You've got to trust me a little, Tomoyo." Meilin turned off to the side a little and dropped her small load. Meilin made a point to stand in between the bag and Tomoyo in case she suddenly jumped for it to see its contents. She didn't expect what Tomoyo did, however. Although, perhaps it had been the easiest course of action to predict.

Tomoyo smiled satisfyingly as she dangled the over-used glove away from Meilin who was already throwing her arms about to recapture it. Then she realized her mistake. Tomoyo froze seeing it, Meilin too late in hiding her hand out of sight.

"So now it's completely blistered over?"

Meilin stiffened her lip. "It's no big deal."

Tomoyo was considering the benefits of a tantrum, but she was beyond that level of immaturity. "What the hell is wrong with you? I give up. You're beyond help. And you're driving me crazy. Is this how Li-san always felt? No wonder he's gone."

Meilin crossed her arms defensively and leaned back. "Hey, don't be bringing other people into this. But if I was the reason that he left this hell hole, then I'd be glad. I mean, I wish he wasn't an Elementalist in the first place, but he is so all I can say is that where he ended up is ten times better and more humane."

"Aw God, Meilin. I'm tired about worrying about you." Meilin was left looking at the younger girl's back. "I just hope you don't regret this later. And I hope I won't either."

Meilin opened her mouth, knowing what she wanted to say, but found she couldn't say it at the very last moment. She reworked her words instead. "Don't worry. I won't."

--e--a--

Meilin was on the brink of her rather limited patience. She had come today with one goal in mind, and that was to seek out Hiiragizawa privately. Unfortunately she had heard right and had remembered correctly that he stuck like glue to Clow's side, and it was rather obvious that she was staying uncharacteristically later than she normally did. As soon as she got her leave, she always went flying out. But today had reaped no one-on-one discussion with Clow's apprentice so she was forced to stay behind, glaring at both of their questioning looks.

Still, she had yet to open her mouth to clarify her prolonged presence.

It was only until a wealthy sponsor came to call that Eriol and she were locked out of Clow's office, and she had the chance to strike with one of her greatest weapons: her tongue. Only she had to hit the right nerve to make it work. Of course, the fact that he was not just anybody made it a challenge she was looking forward to.

"Hiiragizawa. I don't like you." Well, actually that could have gone just a little better. Eriol shot her a look that fortunately didn't look offended and he instead wore a mask of indifference. He seemed to understand that she was finally getting around to why she had been following him and Clow around all day.

"I know this already."

"It's nothing personal, however. You just happen to support Clow, a man I _loathe_ and work as an Elementalist. Those are two things I can't overlook." Eriol leaned against the wall in apparent thought.

"Then I have to wonder why you privilege me with your presence."

"Don't think so high and mighty of yourself. I came here today because I've noticed something." Eriol allowed more interest on his part at these words.

"And that would be…"

"You kind of agree with me, don't you?" Meilin couldn't resist her knowing smirk. Eriol, however, was above letting himself be so easily manipulated and deterred. Still, he knew what she was getting at.

"Are you asking me to entwine myself in a brutish scheme of yours? I may disagree with some workings here, but I have my priorities and duties, and they don't include aiding you."

"It's obvious you don't like this situation anymore than I do. It would be a win-win situation for both of us." Eriol furrowed his eyebrow. He had had his suspicions, but now by coming to him, she seemed to be laying every last card of hers on the table. He just wondered if she still had a trick up her sleeve yet.

"I cannot allow you to go past certain restrictions. There are some things you are not able to do in this world. You are not God. You don't make the rules."

"I am seeking justification. I am seeking morality! I know you are on my side with matters like those! How can you take the other side?"

"You are mistaken. I neither take your side or the opposite one. I myself have no idea where I stand." Meilin only let the upset give her one moment of hesitation.

"But you want change! You can help me achieve it. Every last loose end will have been tied up. You've learned everything you can from the way things are run now. Why not try for a change in your direction? I don't even care which way you take it. I'll be out of here if all goes well."

Eriol paused, on the verge of standing up but thinking better of it.

"I don't think I have learned everything yet. Not even Clow Reed. No one has learned everything. But staying here with things like this, I have an accomplice to try to figure things out despite our differences. Your method solving is practical in a shortsighted and naïve way, but it is inefficient and against what I can stand for. Please leave."

"Hiiragizawa, think it through some more. I'm only offering this one time. Don't let an opportunity slip by so easily."

"Rae-san, I have no doubt that you will prove an interesting spectacle, but I doubt there is anything more that you can do. There are things that none of us can do. You have no right to decide what is within your limitations. Believe me, if we were truly free to do as we pleased, things would have been different long ago."

Meilin was still recovering from his apparent lack of consideration of seeing her as a threat, but she decided to focus on the goal first and not personal insult.

"You should have considered then that nothing it outside of your grasp. If you want change, you can make that a reality. It was foolish to not act upon that desire. But now you have someone to help you and we can finally make a reality of what we want."

"Think of the repercussions for a moment, Rae-san. You tell me to think, but you have not done so yourself. You entertain a foolish, immature dream. That will be your downfall and what ends this silly little game of yours. I have said all I can say on the matter. This time, please do leave."

Meilin stood and huffed, turning her back on him while tightening her hands into fists. "You take me far too lightly, Hiiragizawa. I promised I would succeed. I will succeed. Even if you have to kill me for your own sense of justice, I will first have mine. No matter what happens, I will win. I will die for my glory if I have to and you should remember that."

"You speak far too lightly during one burst of passion. This is already almost over, Rae-san. There's no hope for you. You've already confirmed all my theories and this ensures that you will not succeed."

Meilin stalked out in even, violent strides.

"This is not a moment of passion, this is what I've been trying to do for years since my injustice, since I realized everyone's injustice. This is not over until I say it is. And I do not believe you capable of speaking of this for the very same reason you cannot help me." She didn't stay around for a response.

But she had been invariably right. Eriol pretended the night had been wiped clean from his memory and none of this had ever happened.

But he really knew it was more because he was curious as to what she really could do and how far she'd take it. That was why he wouldn't utter a word.

Because he knew there was no way she could win in the end. He might as well let her have her last bit of fun before she had to finally grow up.

--e--a--

Tomoyo fingered the next page of the text, readying to turn the page when she reached the last word of the reading, but she knew very well that her mind wasn't on it. The thoughtless action had just been built up after so much repetition on her part. The action held a very pathetic cover for what she was actually doing. Tomoyo didn't know why she bothered with a front of any kind at all. The only other occupant of the room knew Tomoyo was staring heatedly at her back.

"Something wrong?" Meilin was feeling just a tad anxious rolled up with nervousness but was largely in a reassured state with a large ego. So, against what might have been better judgment, she prompted Tomoyo.

Tomoyo looked up from her pretended task to sigh exasperatedly. She waveringly pointed at their shared calendar, pinned up against the far wall next to the door. "Why don't you look at that and ask again?"

Meilin let a small smirk settle across her mouth. It was true she had deliberately circled and re-circled today's date. Therefore, Tomoyo had been prepared and informed that today was the day. And obviously Tomoyo was worried. When wasn't she?

"I see no problem there." Tomoyo lost her composure quickly in this rare case, throwing her book as it landed with a loud thud against the wall. In a flutter of pages it fell to the ground and lay half-opened in obvious disarray. Meilin stopped her obvious preparations to glance at her in question.

"What do you think you're doing?" When there was no response, "Answer me!"

"Tomoyo, I'm doing what is right. Don't get in my way." Meilin gave one final tug on what she had secured on her right calf, very near her ankle and then let her skirt fall down to her shoes. In a small rough sack, folded many times over, she had secured the main ingredient for tonight deep within her jacket's pocket. She stood and shifted her weight slightly uncomfortably. She would have thought they'd be beyond this conversation by now, but Meilin knew that maybe their debate on this issue would never be over.

"You're not doing what's right at all! You're ruining your chances and trying to take everyone else's away!" Tomoyo stood, following with her eyes as Meilin glided to the door. She herself took a few steps forward in the older teen's direction.

"I'm saving you! How can that be wrong?" Meilin herself was stirring up in anger, and she gripped the door frame tightly, her other hand shooting out to open it and get out of there.

Tomoyo latched out a quick arm and gripped Meilin's arm tightly before the action could be completed. "Think rationally! This is no solution! I can't let you do something so stupid. I can't believe I let you go this far. Someone's got to stop you, and there's no one else but me to do it."

"I don't need someone like you telling me the difference between right and wrong. This is the retribution that was too long in coming."

"This is wrong, Meilin, and it's no retribution! This won't solve anything! You're just ruining everything and trying to make everything worse!" Meilin shifted violently in an attempt to shrug Tomoyo's grip off, but Tomoyo clamped her teeth together in unusual determination as she held on steadfast. Meilin turned on her, naturally enough, and choose an emotional approach to make her let go.

"Before you were one of them. But you don't really get it, do you? They want nothing to do with you now. You're not good enough for them. When I do this tonight, you'll be free of that judgment! No more feeling useless; all that will fall apart. This sick and twisted fantasy will forever be beyond repair, and we will all be able to get on with our lives!"

Tomoyo was on the verge of becoming uncharacteristically hysterical. Count on Meilin to touch a sore spot. And at this very moment she was feeling completely useless, albeit only in being unable to talk reason into Meilin. She had built up a little more self-confidence.

"Meilin, what we have is an answer! This is a hope for a better future. Don't try and take this away from all these people!"

Meilin was growing more and more impatient as her attempt of detaching Tomoyo had yet to amount to anything.

"Tomoyo, you'll never understand until it's too late just like everyone else. But I know you Tomoyo. You'll let me go because you secretly want this too. So stop protecting them! I'm doing you a favor here by risking myself to give you a real chance to be accepted. Goddamn it! Let me go Tomoyo so I can do this! And just face it! They don't want you Tomoyo! They never have! To them you're disposable trash, and they treat you like it too!"

This time it worked like the charm as Tomoyo sunk a little speechless to the floor with wide eyes full of horror. Meilin mustered a half sympathetic look at who she would probably deem as a friend. She hated to do it, but to her this was right. Nothing was more so.

Tomoyo took to covering half her face with a hand, her expression contorted into one full of confused and desperate emotions.

"M-Meilin… You can't do this… There's no way you'll even be able to do anything so don't go off and do this. You and I have a chance here and so many other people too. Think about yourself here if you really need to act more selfishly than you are right now!"

Meilin was beyond being able to put up with this anymore. This time she had the door fingered and prepared to be thrust open but not without getting in the last words.

"Shut _up!_ This isn't about me! This is about everyone that gave so much and lost everything! Those people are at the very least owed this! And I'll do it for them because they're not around anymore to do it for themselves! I don't expect you to understand, Tomoyo. But I am going to do it, and no one's going to stop me!"

Meilin wasn't there to see Tomoyo crumble in a heap on the floor as she stared at the door that was slammed shut behind the fleeing teenager. Meilin just wanted to forget what had just happened and focus on what she was going to make happen.

--e--a--

Meilin could feel her breath hitching ever so slightly in her throat. But on the outside, she showed no sign of disturbance as she sat there, her head swimming with numbers. Her thoughts, however, were really elsewhere.

Meilin just wanted it to be over with already. But that just wasn't happening. Patience was the key here, and she was being held back by paper work. Sometimes being seventeen really sucked. The workload that was given to her really had multiplied since the time she had ran mindless chores and copied small tidbits when she had started this 'job' five years ago. She sadistically amused herself with this very faintly, calming herself whenever butterflies were let loose in her stomach once again.

Nervousness and excitement really didn't mix well, but she'd have to cope. Only a little more time, and everything would be over for good. Then she could breathe freely again. For now, it was back to the task at hand. With a little necessary eavesdropping on the side, of course.

"The disciplines of the potential benefactor don't match our own. He wants us to push forth the regulations of what his village has decided upon, but he should know we already have an agenda to keep here. And it's remained unchanged for some time now."

Meilin fisted her free hand until she could feel the marks from her nails appearing. It relieved her of most of her tension, but her face was thereafter marred with a frown as she busied herself once again.

"Maybe you should consider what he's offering. Any idea that has some legitimacy should be looked into. We haven't really found any permanent solutions ourselves, and we should keep looking."

Working in the same room as Clow Reed and his apprentice, Hiiragizawa, really had some perks at the right moments. Although sometimes it was rather hard to keep her temper in check.

"The way we run things now is stable and the best answer anyone's ever found. His suggestions are full of holes that would destroy any plans before they ever began. Ours is efficient and effective."

There were no heavy tones being used at this point, but Meilin could feel the slightest of tension rising. She was not too surprised; there were often disagreements between the two. If she wanted to get things to turn out the way she wanted to here, however, she'd have to intervene.

"It may be true that his way is not as practical and… _convenient_," she paused here with rather distain, "but there's always something to be learned from another's methods. Even if their actual solution is worthless, they looked at the problem from another point of view, and it's worth a shot to look at it that way too." Meilin laid down her quill for her remark, her hands on her knees. When she was finished, she turned around to see them mutter a form of consent.

Although only Clow Reed had held conference with the man, he had relayed the conversation accurately enough in this room during discussion with Eriol and they both knew she had been listening. She found it highly ironic she knew such inner workings of an organization she loathed.

Eriol had an impish smile on his lips. "She speaks. Rae-san, take it as you wish, but you would have made a damn good Elementalist." Meilin uncomfortably rubbed her upper left arm with her arms half crossed. She shifted a bit in anger, restlessness, and doubt.

"I'll take it as an offense. Thank you." Eriol laughed and she glared, but they had formed some sort of unusual relationship by meetings like this. Only on certain circumstances was the young apprentice actually completely morbid and serious like he had been when she had asked her _favor_.

And speaking of that, Eriol seemed to start drawing comprehension that tonight was the night. She had to hurry this up before questions started appearing where they shouldn't.

"He's right, you would have. Rae Meilin, hater of her own kind." She turned sharply at him as he spoke that, not knowing exactly what he was saying there. Clow remained impassive. "Good thing you're not one."

Meilin just had the feeling there was more to that than she would rather like to know. Instead she saw them stopping any contentious conversation and any debating so she took it as though they were in better spirits. She crossed the room with her sudden decisiveness, coming up to the quaint and antique tea set. She was instantly removing certain herbs from the rather large selection and heating water.

"And what is this?" Meilin paused at the question. She responded after a moment with her breathing under control.

"I'm mostly done with the report you gave me." She hesitated for a brief interlude, but she decided to make it flow as much as possible. "Which was _hell_, by the way."

"Glad to see you're enjoying your job as much as always." Meilin sometimes hated all the sarcasm that was layered underneath emotionless words in their conversations. Eriol watched the exchange as always.

"Of course." Here was where she could lead Eriol astray so she followed the plan as she had dictated it to herself over and over again. "Anyway, I have matters to attend to tonight so I am requesting an early leave. And a little tea never hurt a persuasion." It took a few seconds for her to realize the irony of it all.

At this they probably considered she was up to something, strictly because she never had prepared tea in any argument of her own. She was far more likely to just storm out in her haste with few words of an excuse called out. She only hoped they didn't put it together so soon.

"Pour it." Meilin wanted to smile in glee, but she kept her face contorted in the cocky, superior-esque one it had been in just a moment before. She had to be like she usually was to remain inconspicuous. It was tempting, however, because he practically guaranteed her of her leave. Among other things.

So she took her order, and she prepped the tea. She took extra measures and hunted her memory for ingredients that made tea smell stronger because she was certainly going to need such knowledge. Shifting as little as she could, she drifted her ears back into a conversation that had taken off without her as she continued making the tea.

"The man had another well-constructed point," Eriol said in further analysis, and Meilin rolled her eyes as she had thought this was a closed topic. "People are getting off put by the consequences of our current methods. That is why it would be important to keep our eyes and ears open."

"It is true that many do not understand the tolls people in this program must take, but those who are actually in it should and do understand the conditions before reaching such a high ranking in their abilities."

Meilin was watching the last bit of the water bubbling, and proceeded to pour out three practically identical cups. She then had baited breath as she walked back to where the two were situated.

"Complaints of the rare mishap or unforeseen sacrifice are starting to appear, however. Do you not remember the last time we encountered Madoushi-san? That place, the end there was not what was planned, and people even outside the program know it."

Clow seemed a little off. Meilin laid down the tray on a nearby table and handed one to Eriol then Clow, grasping her own cup before heading to put the tray back and tidy up. Neither, however, had taken a single sip except for herself. She mused in her mind that she knew exactly what they were talking about because it was so glaringly obvious to her.

"That was by choice, and he had every right to decide whether or not he wanted to do that. That was his course of action, and we supported him in it. He was already on his way to death-" Meilin shook her head, feeling slightly lightheaded. She moved back to her work station, and began to collect her things. She felt like she hadn't breathed in ages.

"But people did not hear it that way, and they like to interpret it their own way. Doubts are beginning to rise and-" Eriol nodded his head as in thanks to Meilin who was making her way to the door before he took a sip, already having been interrupted by Clow.

"Make no mistake, I know this already. But we must prevail over the doubt. If we show indecisiveness, they will think they are right." Here he paused to take a sip himself.

And the former conversation died as a result.

"This is particularly strong smelling tea." Meilin almost fell over in the complete turn around she executed. And she had almost gotten out of there too.

"I thought I'd try something new," she allowed.

"I see. Did you find yours to be strong too?"

Eriol looked up in thought at that and nodded. "It wasn't that strong, but yes it was in a way."

Clow turned towards Meilin who was hesitating at the closed door. "You usually prepare a different variety of tea so I am surprised. What brought about the sudden change?" Clow looked liked he would be adamant in this change of topic. Meilin just wanted to get the hell out there, but she had to tread lightly. Her mission was being threatened here.

"I've been experimenting lately. And strange man that the possible benefactor was, he was giving me instructions for one of his native varieties of tea." She was considering saying that he had slipped her some foreign herbs too, but then that might just bring more questions and an even more prolonged exit on her part.

"Is that so?" Meilin then watched in relief as he tilted the teacup up to sample the drink. She took it as her cue to leave.

But she never got that far.

She assumed it was wind; her hair had gone flying past her face. Still, she had been barely able to register that fact as her back scrapped against the polished wood panels that made up the floor. Her head made contact shortly after, harshly ricocheting against the hard surface before settling down.

She was seeing spots and was on the verge of believing that her head was bleeding. It did hurt like hell. But all she could think of was one word over and over. Shit. Shit. Shit!

Because it suddenly crashed down upon her that she was not going to be able to come out of this so easily. Tomoyo's warnings were mocking her now, and through the volume of all the words of caution she couldn't come up with any plan of action. She felt helpless lying there when all instinct told her to get up through the pain and _run_.

Logically that would offer no solution, but this was primitive common sense at work, and she had nothing else to consider. She never got the chance to put more thought in.

Eriol was off to the side, looking as if he had connected the pieces somewhere along the line. Clow Reed however was up and towering over her lanky form. His own vision was slurring from one color to the next and his tongue was burning beyond belief as were some slight constrictions that rippled through his body. And he wondered just what would have befallen him if he hadn't known, if he hadn't held the tea's contents back with his tongue.

Steadying himself and speaking through the pain, Clow was the first to say anything.

"I would like to know why you just tried to do that." Meilin wanted to shrink back in fear because she really wasn't as strong as everyone thought she was. But that was the last thing she'd allow Clow to see, and she instead bit her tongue from betraying anything. And God, she felt dizzy and off centered when she was only sprawled out on the ground. She'd never get out of this.

She was so _stupid_.

In the lapse of silence, Clow took to standing next to the wall for support because truly something had been wrong with what Meilin had prepared for him. This young girl, declared as such by some standards, could no longer pretend to be so innocent anymore. He stared at the young woman who was breathing heavily and knew she had been out for blood.

Eriol came forward then and he prodded her head with his foot, and she latched out viciously before propping herself up slowly. She had only barely stabilized herself, however, when she was kicked right back down.

Meilin felt that getting a concussion would be best at this point. Then she wouldn't have to suffer this abuse. And if she had been willing to go so far, would they justify themselves in going all the way too? Hell, they had no problem sacrificing others' lives. That was the essence of her fear. And she couldn't do anything about it, just like back then in the past in those two different circumstances. She was useless. Hadn't she always known that?

She had, and yet she had continued on so foolishly.

"You want to know why, you say? The answer isn't worth my time. You already know what it is. I hate you! I hate you more than you can imagine!" And it sounded good to say it like she had always dreamed she would, only with the circumstances so very different.

Clow straightened upright before he spoke to her again. "I've always known this. But I'd like to _why_ now. Because there are only certain things in this world that will drive a person to murder."

Meilin wanted to cry hysterically. She really did. But she wasn't that weak. She was useless and foolish, but she was strong. Goddamn it, she was! She wanted a shred of dignity left.

And so against all better judgment, representing herself entirely, she made the quickest movement of her life as she jostled forward onto her knees. Her hand grasped the only ace up her sleeve she had left and she aimed and cocked it without hesitation, only to realize in horror that she couldn't pull the trigger.

"Do it Rae-san if that'll make you feel better. You failed so you'll try to remedy it now." Her hands wouldn't stop shaking as the gun pointed over his vital areas. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth until resolve hardened. And with a cry less human than she had ever uttered before, she did it.

Only she knew (and that's was the only reason why she ever had the courage in the first place) that she'd never hit her target. Because with another sea sickening lurch she was held up beyond even her toes' reach and she was being strangled no matter how much she squirmed.

Somewhere along the line, a painful searing had formed at her shoulder as that was where that bullet had been redirected where it was snug and complacent and happy. What a fitting ending to such a beautiful tragedy.

She opened her eyes to see that Eriol had done the deed as her vision hazed out almost entirely. But her downcast eyes couldn't miss the sea of expanding red. And even if they had, it was so silent she could probably hear every drop of scarlet liquid hit the floor. Such was how things had concluded.

This was over.

But she didn't feel like it was just yet. And she couldn't believe it. Because nothing would change, nothing had been solved.

Eriol taunted her in ways he could never know when he spoke. "This is finished, Rae-san." She hadn't expected to be let down and to land so haphazardly on the ground in a ruined heap.

This time she couldn't stop the tears. They were prideful tears, however, not ones accompanied with longing sobs. This was for honor and purpose. She was still strong.

"Don't call me that! I'm no Rae-san!" When she let it sink into her own mind as to what had happened, she backtracked. "You want to know why I'd kill you! It's easy. What other reason could there be? I want to murder the murderer! It's only fair! But you won't let me get my justice!"

There was no response, no movement. All Meilin could do for a moment was concentrate on her breathing and trying to see straight.

"I want, _need_, to kill you because you murdered my mother! I am Li Meilin, and you took away my mother's life! I can never forgive you for that!"

Meilin couldn't take the silence anymore. If her agony had to fill it then so be it.

But there it was, so very quietly. "Your mother chose that path. Everyone who walks that road chooses their own destiny. She chose to die."

"Lies! That's all lies! You talked her into it! You killed her! You're a murder! I want my justice! I want my justice because I can't have my mother back!"

Some patience must have snapped somewhere because Meilin finally got that concussion she had wanted.

**Sorry for the delay, but there it is. What will definitely remain as one of my favorite chapters. I've only had it in my mind since before I wrote the outline. Which is to say a very, very long time. But here it is now. **

**Now may I forward you to… Elemental Basics. This update marks its premiere and the first part just so happens to correspond with Meilin's background. So… check that out? Oh, and maybe a review please? It's appreciated beyond belief. And I know you're out there. The hit counter _really_ tells me so. **


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